Author: Solar Energy Technologies Office Published: 10/6/2020 DOE
Now is the time to send in your innovative ideas for solar solutions for a chance at a $3 million prize pool. The deadline to enter the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office American-Made Solar Prize Round 4 is October 8, 2020, 3 p.m. ET. U.S.-based students, entrepreneurs, and other industry professionals are encouraged to apply. Yours might be the next big idea!
The American-Made Solar Prize is a $3 million competition designed to revitalize solar manufacturing in the United States. Competitors may be entrepreneurial students, professors, small-business owners, company staffers, researchers at national laboratories, or anyone else based in the United States with a potentially marketable solar technology solution. This challenge requires competitors to make progress on a condensed timeline, form private-sector partnerships, and secure investments to make their ideas a reality.
On July 9, 2020, DOE launched Round 4 of the American-Made Solar Prize. In the first phase of the competition, entrepreneurial individuals and teams pitch an innovative idea that addresses a critical need in the solar industry and identify market demand for it. Those selected to advance to the second phase will design a proof-of-concept. In the third and final phase, selected individuals and teams will develop early-stage prototypes for industry testing.
The fourth round of the Solar Prize will run concurrently with the third round, which was announced in September 2019.
Timeline
- The Ready! Contest submission deadline is October 8, 2020. Semifinalists will be announced on December 3, 2020.
- The Set! Contest opens on December 3, 2020. Finalists will be determined at a demo day on March 26, 2021.
- The Go! Contest opens on March 26, 2021. The final winners will be determined at the final demo day on September 21, 2021.
Learn More
- Register to compete in the Solar Prize.
- Join the American-Made Network.
- Download the rules for the prize competition.
- Download the American-Made Solar Prize Fact Sheet.
- For questions about the Solar Prize, email challenge@nrel.gov.
- Read about the American-Made Solar Prize Round 1, which launched in June 2018.
- Read about the American-Made Solar Prize Round 2, which launched in March 2019.
- Read about the American-Made Solar Prize Round 3, which launched in September 2020.
The American-Made Solar Prize is a part of the American-Made Challenges and is administered by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.