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American-Made Challenges

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Heliostat Prize

The American-Made Heliostat Prize is a 3-contest challenge designed to accelerate technology innovation of selected heliostat components.

This challenge is closed

stage:
Submission Deadline
prize:
$3,000,000

This challenge is closed

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Summary
Timeline
Updates5
Forum9
Teams209
Resources
FAQ
Summary

Overview

 

New energy technologies are reshaping the national and global energy landscape. Increased deployment of solar technology will require flexible and dispatchable generation and energy storage technologies, like concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) with thermal energy storage, to ensure reliability of the grid. Achieving these targets will depend heavily on reducing the cost of heliostats – which track the sun and reflect light, concentrating it on a receiver – to $50/m2, while improving technical performance, from an existing baseline of approximately $96-$127/m2. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) is seeking to reduce the cost of heliostats, in this prize, by specifically focusing on reducing the cost, or validating the performance of novel components. This prize is designed to accelerate heliostat component technology innovation through the design, development, demonstration, and eventual commercialization of selected heliostat components.

 

 

 


Guidelines

Please review the official rules for the complete application process and instructions for competing. The rules document can be downloaded by following this link or by visiting the 'Resources' tab on our HeroX page. 

Timeline

Challenge Timeline

start
April 25, 2023, 9:08 a.m. PDT
Date Launched
May 9, 2023, 8 a.m. PDT
Enter
Concept Contest Opens
June 14, 2023, 11 p.m. PDT
Informational Webinar
Learn more about the U.S. Department of Energy's American-Made Heliostat Prize during an informational webinar at 2 p.m. EST on Thursday, June 15. Prize representatives will be available to discuss the program, timeline, and answer questions. We will also share a recording of the webinar on the HeroX page afterward for those who are unable to attend.

Register online: https://nrel.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJItcO6rrToiHxZ0kQSzWKz_KB8p-z9ykeg
Sept. 1, 2023, 2 p.m. PDT
Submission Deadline
Concept Contest Deadline
Oct. 1, 2023, 12:05 p.m. PDT
You are here
Oct. 9, 2023, 8 a.m. PDT
Semifinalists Announced
Concept Contest Winners Announcement (anticipated October 2023)
Nov. 1, 2023, 8 a.m. PDT
Enter
Design Contest Opens (anticipated)
Feb. 29, 2024, 2 p.m. PST
Submission Deadline
Design Contest Deadline (anticipated)
March 11, 2024, 8 a.m. PDT
Finalists Announced
Design Contest Winners Announcement (anticipated March 2024)
April 1, 2024, 8 a.m. PDT
Enter
Assess Contest Opens (anticipated)
Sept. 16, 2024, 2 p.m. PDT
Submission Deadline
Assess Contest Deadline (anticipated)
finish
Oct. 14, 2024, 8 a.m. PDT
Won
Assess Contest Winners Announcement (anticipated October 2024)
Updates5

Challenge Updates

Phase 1 Deadline is TOMORROW!!

Aug. 30, 2023, 11:17 a.m. PDT by Patrick Hayes

The submission deadline for Phase 1 of the American-Made Heliostat Prize is TOMORROW -- August 31, 2023. As a reminder, several resources are available on the HeroX page to help teams finalize their submissions, including a contest submission template, the rules document, key dates, a recording of a webinar from the Heliostat Prize team, and a forum where questions can be asked, are all available on the competition’s HeroX page. Questions can also be emailed to


Phase 1 Deadline Approaching August 31!

Aug. 23, 2023, 9:10 a.m. PDT by Patrick Hayes

The submission deadline for Phase 1 of the American-Made Heliostat Prize is August 31. Several resources are available on the HeroX page to help teams finalize their submissions, including a contest submission template, the rules document, key dates, a recording of a webinar from the Heliostat Prize team, and a forum where questions can be asked, are all available on the competition’s HeroX page. Questions can also be emailed to


Heliostat Prize Webinar on June 15

June 13, 2023, 12:08 p.m. PDT by Patrick Hayes

Learn more about the U.S. Department of Energy's American-Made Heliostat Prize during an informational webinar at 2 p.m. EST on Thursday, June 15. Prize representatives will be available to discuss the program, timeline, and answer questions. We will also share a recording of the webinar on the HeroX page afterward for those who are unable to attend.

Register online: https://nrel.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJItcO6rrToiHxZ0kQSzWKz_KB8p-z9ykeg


Heliostat Prize Official Rules

June 1, 2023, 9:26 a.m. PDT by Patrick Hayes

The official rules for the American-Made Heliostat Prize are now available! Download the PDF at this link or select the 'Resources' tab on this HeroX page to access the document.


Updates coming soon!

May 16, 2023, 11:46 a.m. PDT by Patrick Hayes

We are excited by the early interest in the American-Made Heliostat Prize since our soft launch on Earth Day in April. Please continue to follow our HeroX page for official rules and other information in the coming days.


Forum9
Teams209
Resources
FAQ