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American-Made Program

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Feeder of the Future Prize

The Feeder of the Future Prize advances distribution system feeders that address current and future power delivery challenges.

This challenge is closed to new competitors

Energy, Environment & Resources Government Technology
stage:
Winner Announcement
prize:
$100,000

This challenge is closed to new competitors

Energy, Environment & Resources Government Technology
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Summary
Timeline
Updates8
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Teams227
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Summary

Challenge Overview

The Feeder of the Future Prize is a $100,000 single-phase competition which aims to encourage the development of advanced distribution system feeder and circuit designs that align with the evolving demands of 21st-century power delivery, including dynamic loads, onsite generation, and distributed devices.

Background

Electricity is a cornerstone of modern society, and Americans require a reliable, cost-efficient supply. Traditional radial feeder designs, in which power flows from a central source to consumers in a single direction, have worked well to meet this need so far. However, as the electric grid transforms, so must distribution system feeders to keep energy reliable and cost-effective in the 21st century. 

The Feeder of the Future Prize aims to meet the need for next generation power systems that improve reliability and maintainability of grid components, integrate evolving technologies, and meet evolving cyber-physical security requirements. The ultimate goal is for prize solutions to influence both future feeder deployments (green-field) as well as provide an upgrade path to existing distribution feeder (brown-field). 

Prize Structure

Feeder of the Future Prize competitors will focus on fostering innovative feeder designs for consumers in the following three tracks: Rural, Suburban, and Urban. A cumulative total of up to 10 winners will receive $8,000 each in cash prizes and up to 8 runners-up will receive $2,500 each in cash prizes.  

Track 1 – Rural Feeder  

Teams focus on areas with agricultural and industrial customers who are more likely to have power interruptions and live far from generation sources.  

For the purposes of Track 1, a rural area is characterized by: 

  • Fewer than 50 people per square mile 
  • 2-8 MW of active power on the feeder 
  • Longer circuit miles (geographically dispersed connections) 
  • Primarily residential and industrial customers. 

Track 2 – Suburban Feeder 

Teams design solutions for suburban areas with a high use of behind-the-meter assets.

For the purposes of Track 2, a suburban area is characterized by: 

  • Between 50-1000 people per square mile (may include smaller towns/cities) 5-7 MW of active power per feeder 
  • Short circuit miles (geographically compact) 
  • Primarily light commercial, residential, and light industrial customers. 

Track 3 – Urban Feeder 

Teams conceptualize a feeder that will address the exponential growth of electric using device deployment in an urban environment by providing enroute and home/curbside/workplace charging. 

For the purposes of Track 3, an urban area is characterized by: 

  • Greater than 1,000 people per square mile 
  • 7 MW or more of active power per feeder 
  • Short circuit miles (geographically compact) 
  • Potential for multiple substations/feed-in points tied to a single feeder circuit 
  • Primarily commercial and dense residential customers. 

Competitors are limited to three submissions in total and a maximum of two submissions per track if submitting multiple submissions. Competitors must designate whether they are competing in the Rural Track, Suburban Track, or the Urban Track. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reserves the right to move the submissions into any track at its discretion. 

Read the official rules for more information.  

Prize Timeline

View the timeline tab for the most current dates and deadlines. All dates are subject to change, including challenge openings, deadlines, and announcements. 

Connecting You to the Innovation Engine

The American-Made Network provides support to Feeder of the Future Prize competitors throughout the competition and is composed of national labs, incubators, investors, facilities, and seasoned industry mentors. The American-Made Network strengthens and scales the critical connections needed to grow new businesses, develop solutions, and sustain American innovation.

Eligibility

Are you a thinker, researcher, or technology innovator? You belong here. Anyone with a groundbreaking idea can help build a more reliable U.S. electric grid through the American-Made Feeder of the Future Prize. Competitors are individuals, small and large businesses, and universities legally residing or based in the United States.  

For full eligibility requirements, please read the official rules. 

Guidelines

Please review the official rules for the complete application process and instructions for competing.

If you want to receive updates on the prize or have any questions, please subscribe by using the follow feature on the HeroX platform or message us directly at .

View legal agreement
Timeline
Updates8

Challenge Updates

DOE Announces Feeder of the Future Prize Winners

Sept. 10, 2026, 10 a.m. PDT by NLR Prize Moderator

Today the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity announced the winning teams of the Feeder of the Future Prize. Winning submissions will both influence future feeder deployments (greenfield) and provide an upgrade path to existing distribution feeders (brownfield).

 

Winners

The following five teams were named prize winners and will receive $8,000 in cash prizes for their submissions. 

GridForge Energy (California, Urban Track)

This team aims to unlock grid visibility and demand flexibility through distributed ledger technology using baselines and cryptographic fingerprints to prove that real, measurable changes occurred on a feeder during grid service events.

Grid Grit (South Dakota, Rural Track) 

This team’s solution involves the addition of adaptive conductors to rural single-phase and three-phase distribution construction, which enables instant load transfer and more efficient responses to storm-related outages.

Power Grid Innovation Team(New York, Suburban Track) 

This team’s solution proposes a modernized suburban feeder architecture that integrates looped topology, advanced automation, distributed optimization, and cyber-physical resilience. Their design addresses rising challenges posed by electrification, electric vehicle adoption, data center growth, climate-driven outages, and cybersecurity threats. 

Rural Grid Vanguard – EPE Consulting (Texas, Rural Track)

This team’s solution is an innovative hierarchical co-optimization framework that integrates long-term planning with real-time operational control of battery energy storage systems.

Smart Grid Design Lab at Purdue University Northwest (Indiana, Suburban Track) 

This team’s focus is on a resilient, interconnection-aware feeder, a software-centric suburban feeder that orchestrates real-time digital-twin prediction, federated anomaly detection, and large-language-model–assisted cyber-physical remediation into a coordinated decision framework.

 

Runners-Up

The following four teams were named prize runners-up and will receive $2,500 in cash prizes for their submissions. 

DBbun (Massachusetts, Suburban Track)

This team’s suburban feeder concept uses segmentation and tie switches to restore most non-fault customers within 20 minutes under cyber constraints. The approach evaluates hundreds of feasible feeder variants and selects designs that consistently achieve rapid restoration and low customer interruption minutes across uncertainty.

PEEC LAB (Arizona, Urban Track)

This team’s proposed solution is a hybrid solid-state transformer that integrates modular solid-state transformer stages in parallel with an existing line-frequency transformer to create a flexible, scalable, and controllable medium-voltage/low-voltage interface for urban feeders.

United Powerer (Texas, Rural Track)

This team’s solution involves a novel concept of self-sustaining, feeder-level, rural power systems with local distributed generation to ensure continuous power supply.

Xyflow (Ohio, Suburban Track)

This team’s project proposes a software “overlay” for suburban distribution feeders that learns from historical operations data and updates continuously with real-time measurements.

 

Congratulations to our winning teams and thank you to all the teams who competed in this prize!  

Winner Announcement Coming Soon

May 6, 2026, 8:45 a.m. PDT by NLR Prize Administrator

Thank you to all Feeder of the Future Prize applicants for your submissions! The submission review period is still underway, and winning teams will be announced as soon as possible. Please be sure you are following this prize page on HeroX to receive a notification when the announcement has been posted. Thank you for your patience!  

Submission Deadline Approaching!

Jan. 27, 2026, 2:50 p.m. PST by NLR Prize Administrator

Don’t be late! The submission deadline for all competitors in the Feeder of the Future Prize is January 29 at 5 p.m. ET. Late submissions will not be accepted, so get ahead of any unexpected delays or technical difficulties and complete your submission materials ahead of time!

Helpful resources for your use include:

We can’t wait to see your final submissions!

Claim Your Free DTECH 2026 Expo-Only Pass

Jan. 13, 2026, 3:20 p.m. PST by NLR Prize Moderator

Join the American-Made team at DTECH 2026 in sunny San Diego, CA, February 2–5!  

We’re excited to announce that the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Electricity (OE) will be hosting a booth where past and future prize competitors can network and learn more about multiple new prizes, as well as other impactful funding opportunities and activities from OE. Plus, conference attendees can join us at several Knowledge Hub sessions to hear from past winners and prize administrators on the benefits of competing in prizes.   

As part of our commitment to engaging the community and advancing innovation, we are offering 50 expo-only tickets to potential participants who are interested in attending. These tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis, so don’t miss your chance to connect with us and learn more about how you can get involved. 

To claim your ticket, please use this link.  

To ensure fairness, we kindly ask that requests for free expo tickets be limited to a maximum of two per group. 

We look forward to seeing you in San Diego! 

Helpful Applicant Resources

Jan. 7, 2026, 7:29 a.m. PST by NLR Prize Administrator

Ready to start your submission for the Feeder of the Future Prize? As a reminder, submissions are due January 29th by 5 p.m. ET. The prize administrators highly recommend submitting all materials well ahead of the deadline to avoid any unexpected delays or technical difficulties. Late submissions will not be accepted. 

Here are a few helpful resources to take advantage of as you prepare your submission.   

Read the Official Rules document located in the Resources tab to familiarize yourself with important application details such as which materials will be public and what information should be included in your submission narrative.  

Review the optional Narrative & Cover Page Elective Submission Template to help guide your submission.  

Watch a recording of the informational webinar and review the related slides for a quick refresher on high-level prize background and competitor eligibility. 

We look forward to seeing your submissions soon!   

Forum1
Teams227
Entries
Resources
FAQ