Semifinalists have been determined for the Ready! Contest. Innovators from around the country competed in the first stage of the competition, the Ready! Contest, by identifying an impactful idea or solution that addresses a critical need in the solar industry and then developing the path they will take to make their solution a reality. A panel of expert reviewers selected 20 teams from 15 states to each receive $50,000 from a pool of $1 million.
Innovation happens when the right resources, people, and passion come together. With the Solar Prize, teams of creative individuals and entrepreneurs will advance conceptual solutions toward product realities with the support of a unique and powerful network and a chance to win up to $3 million in cash prizes.
A prize competition structured for success
The Solar Prize is an opportunity for anyone interested in accelerating ideas and solutions. The American-Made Network is designed to strengthen and scale the very best ideas and teams through three progressive prize competitions, the Ready! Set! Go! Contests. This network provides the tools and expertise to help projects succeed and is comprised of an unparalleled innovation system. These resources will provide technical insight, product validation, and strategic support to teams throughout the competition.
Competing in the prize is easy!
Identify an important problem you want to solve (discover ideas through ideation on HeroX)
Submit a 90-second video describing your challenge and proposed solution, team, and plan
Answer a short, four-question narrative and make a slide about this problem or challenge
Submit a two-page technical assistance request
Update your videos and statements as you advance through the contests.
More than $3 million in incentives for innovation
The Ready! Set! Go! Contests will fast-track efforts to identify, develop, and test disruptive solutions to solar industry needs for a total of $3 million in cash prizes and up to $525,000 in vouchers which can be used at national laboratories and other voucher facilities to develop, test, and validate. Each stage will have a 90-day performance period when participants work to advance their solutions.
Contest
Winners
Prizes
Ready!
20 to 40
$1,000,000 distributed equally with a range of $25,000 to $50,000 in cash per winner
Set!
5 to 10
$1,000,000 in cash and $375,000 in vouchers distributed within a range of $100,000 to $200,000 in cash and $37,500 to $75,000 in vouchers per winner
Go!
2
$500,000 in cash and up to $75,000 in vouchers per winner
The Ready! Set! and Go! Contests
Ideate
It all starts with a big idea. You can enter the Ready! Contest with an idea from the ideation platform or an idea that’s all your own. Once a completed package has been submitted on HeroX, your video will be made public and you’ll become part of the Ready! Contest.
Ready! Contest 90 days / 20-40 winners / up to $50,000 cash Winners will be selected after identifying an impactful idea or solution addressing a critical need in the solar industry;
Set! Contest 90 days / 5-10 winners / up to $200,000 prize and up to $75,000 in vouchers Competitors will work to substantially advance their technology solution toward a viable and promising proof of concept.
Go! Contest 90 days / 2 winners / $500,000 prize and up to $75,000 in vouchers Competitors will work to substantially advance their solution from proof of concept to a refined prototype and find a partner to perform a pilot test of the prototype.
Demo Days Competitors in the Set! and Go! Contests pitch and demonstrate proof of concepts and prototypes to a judging panel and audience at two, live, in-person Demo Day events. Demo days are opportunities to meet competitors, connectors, power connectors, and other members of the American-Made Network. Demo Days culminate in the announcement of Set! and Go! prize winners.
Anyone can compete
Competitors are entrepreneurial individuals or teams, legally residing or based in the U.S., can compete including members of one or multiple organizations, students, university faculty members, small business owners, researchers, or anyone with the desire and drive to transform ideas into impactful realities.
Ready!, Set!, Go! Guidelines
The Ready!, Set!, and Go! Contests will fast-track efforts to identify, develop, and test disruptive solutions to meet solar industry needs. Each stage will include a contest period when participants will work to rapidly advance their solutions. DOE invites anyone, individually or as a team, to compete to transform a conceptual solution into product reality.
Please visit https://americanmadechallenges.org/rules to view the full rules for American-Made Challenges Ideation and the American-Made Challenges Solar Prize.
The American-Made Solar Prize is a $3 million prize competition designed to revitalize U.S. solar manufacturing through a series of contests and the development of a diverse and powerful support network that leverages national laboratories, energy incubators, and other resources across the country. The American-Made Solar Prize is directed and administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office. Learn more.
Semifinalists from Round 1 of the Solar Prize are seeing major successes competing in the Set! Contest. Team SUNSPOT from Germantown, MD, is making progress on their solar-powered electric cooking system with the help of American-Made Network members. With the help of Power Connector Nation of Makers, SUNSPOT has connected with Network members like Nova Labs, Arc34, Teq Strategy, Lumisense, and Theta Composites. Doug and Paul from Team SUNSPOT toured Nova Labs in Reston, VA, with Jennyfer Peterson and Jeanne Marshall, who introduced the team to other startups in the area.
Team SolarVITA from Sioux Falls, SD, is hard at work on their off-grid solar panel building blocks, which can replace a generator to provide power in situations where electricity isn’t available. The team is partnering with a variety of solar industry specialists to fine-tune the engineering requirements of the specific microinverters needed for their concept. Engaging with electrical, mechanical, and industrial design experts has allowed SolarVITA to transform their idea from concept to prototype.
Team Solar Pods from Pleasant Hill, CA, is making waves with their self-assembling, floating solar panels. American-Made Network members Nation of Makers and Powerhouse are connecting the team with the right resources for engineering support, financing, prototype development, and testing. Solar Pods has also been in touch with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for electrical engineering assistance, computer-aided design, prototype development, and preliminary testing of the solar pod devices.
Team ETC Solar from Pasadena, CA, is undergoing durability, reliability, and field testing of their invisible metal contacts for solar cells with the help of researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. They’ve also partnered with American-Made Network members like Washington Clean Energy Testbeds to conduct feasibility and scale-up tests using the facility’s state-of-the-art equipment. ETC Solar’s innovation could enable a new type of contact to be used across a suite of cell types, including silicon, perovskite, and cadmium telluride.
Team Progressive Power Products from Wimberley, TX, recently experienced a major win by developing a partnership with the University of Texas’ Semiconductor Power Electronics Center. With guidance from American-Made Network Power Connectors like Greentown Labs, Powerhouse, and Nation of Makers, the team is establishing even more key partnerships with facilities like Pearson Strategy Group and Resilient Power Systems. Additionally, Progressive Power Products is discussing technology transfer opportunities with national laboratories like the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. All these connections have helped the team test their protection, control, and monitoring device that identifies faults in PV wiring.
