Read the Overview section below for key prize details, then read the Official Rules document to learn more about the EnergyTech UP 2025 competition and regional pitch events.
Explore Phase student registration is due February 3. Students will present to judges at their corresponding regional event on March 4, 5, and 6, and present a final pitch to judges at the national competition in late Spring 2025.
Submissions for Faculty Explore prize consideration are due January 13.
Overview
Sponsored by the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the American-Made EnergyTech University Prize (EnergyTech UP) challenges student teams to compete for cash prizes for successfully identifying a promising energy technology, assessing its market potential, and creating a business plan for commercialization. Faculty are challenged to create innovative implementation plans that expand energy technology commercialization.
Students: Develop and present a business plan that leverages National Laboratory-developed or other emerging energy technologies developed by students, faculty, or industry. Throughout the EnergyTech UP competition, they receive mentorship and materials to help them succeed, all while competing for more than $400,000 in cash prizes.
Faculty: Develop and implement educational activities to engage more students in energy technology commercialization and entrepreneurship topics at their institution. While faculty have always been, and remain, welcome and encouraged to mentor a team competing in EnergyTech UP, this new track is designed to incentivize and support faculty directly, with more than $100,000 in cash prizes available.
About the Prize
The EnergyTech University Prize 2025 is sponsored by DOE’s OTT, as well as several other program offices. EnergyTech UP, in partnership with American-Made Challenges, is designed to be approachable, equitable, and scalable nationwide. Winners are chosen based on the strength of their business proposals and implementation plans.
Participating students are provided with a curated list of National Lab technologies that are ready for commercialization and that can be used for their business plan.
Prize Structure for Student Competitors
Student teams interested in EnergyTech UP will compete for more than $400,000 in cash prizes as they explore business opportunities for lab-developed or other high-potential energy technologies, assess commercialization opportunities through market analysis, and present a viable business plan to industry judges.
Understanding that energy is often inherently local, competitor teams first present at their designated regional events in March, where regional finalists are identified. Teams that are invited to participate in the regional events receive free access to OTT’s Energy I-Corps curriculum. Finalists are provided exclusive mentorship to help students refine their ideas throughout March and April. Finally, the finalists pitch their complete business plan as part of a national conference in April 2025 (tentative).
Prize Structure for Faculty Competitors
The faculty track of EnergyTech UP is designed for educators who may benefit from mentorship and resources to create an implementation plan for their blossoming ideas for integrating or expanding energy technology commercialization or entrepreneurship activities at their home institution.
Faculty (or faculty teams) will compete for more than $100,000 in cash prizes through three phases of competition. They will develop a proposal to expand energy technology commercialization or entrepreneurship activities at their home institution; receive access to a DOE mentor and DOE resources; and work toward showing how their plans could be integrated into student activities.
How to Compete
Are you a collegiate student or faculty member interested in transitioning energy technologies to market? The EnergyTech University Prize is for you! Here are next steps you can take to get started:
Learn about DOE National Lab-developed energy technologies to use for this competition on the OTT Lab Partnering Service.
Send questions about EnergyTech UP to .
2025 Important Dates
Please see the official timeline in HeroX for the most current schedule of events for EnergyTech UP. All dates are subject to change, including contest openings, deadlines, and announcements.
Don’t forget to join us tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET as we kick off EnergyTech UP 2025 with an informational webinar!
Register now to join prize administrators as they share everything you need to know about how the competition and tracks work, where students can find energy technologies to build their business plans around, the $500,000+ prize pool, and more.
Participants will also hear from prize alumni to get inspired about all the reasons to compete in this valuable skills-building contest. And don’t forget to bring your questions—prize administrators will be on hand for a participant Q&A at the end of the webinar.
Anyone interested in promoting or participating in this year’s prize is highly encouraged to register now.Even if you’re unable to attend, registration is recommended as it ensures that you’ll receive a follow-up email with the webinar recording delivered right to your inbox.
Anyone interested in this year’s EnergyTech University Prize is encouraged to attend an informational webinar on Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. ET!
Join the webinar to gain a better understanding of how the competition and tracks work, what to submit and when, and more about the $500,000+ prize pool available to competitors!
Participants will hear from prize administrators about updates to this year’s program, benefits of competing, and how students can find energy technologies around which to build business plans. Plus, you'll hear about the competition timeline, event dates, and how to start preparing this fall.
Mark your calendars, register now, and start gathering your questions for the live Q&A held at the end of the webinar!
Exciting news! The Official Rules for EnergyTech University Prize 2025 (EnergyTech UP) are now available on HeroX in the Resources tab. With a few exciting updates and enhancements, we are thrilled to kick off another year of the competition.
For students, this collegiate business plan competition, hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Technology Transitions, challenges multidisciplinary teams to identify high-potential energy technologies, assess their market potential, and pitch strategies for commercialization. Competitors will vie for over $450,000 in cash prizes while gaining entrepreneurial skills and networking with industry leaders.
Key Dates for Student Track:
Feb. 3, 2025: Registration Deadline
March 4-6, 2025: Regional Explore Events
April 2025: National Pitch Event
Interested student teams should create an account on HeroX, click “Solve this Challenge,” and submit a 200-word summary of the energy technology and business opportunity by Feb. 3, 2025.
Returning this year, the Faculty Track of the EnergyTech UP is open to collegiate educators interested in incorporating or expanding energy technology commercialization and entrepreneurship topics into their institution’s educational activities, with $110,000 in faculty-directed awards.
Key Dates for Faculty Track:
Jan. 13, 2025: Submission Deadline for Faculty Explorer Prize
Jan. 23, 2025: Faculty Explorer Winners Announced
April 25, 2025: Implementation Plan Submission Deadline
Interested faculty should create an account on HeroX and submit an Explore Phase entry by Jan. 13, 2025, to be considered for one of ten Faculty Explorer Awards. Faculty who submit an Explore Phase entry and meet eligibility requirements will be given free access to several resources to help them refine their ideas and learning materials before the April 25, 2025, Implementation Plan deadline.
For both tracks, be sure to follow the HeroX page to stay updated on key program details, including upcoming webinars.
Informational Webinar on Oct. 24
To kick things off, we invite all interested students, faculty, and university staff to join our first informational webinar on Oct. 24 at 12 p.m. ET. This webinar will cover everything you need to know about the competition, including:
How the competition works and what’s new this year
The timeline and event dates
Strategies for finding energy technologies to build your plan around
Participants will hear from prize administrators about updates to this year’s program, benefits of competing, and how students can find energy technologies around which to build business plans. Plus, you'll hear about the competition timeline, event dates, and how to start preparing this fall. 
