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I AM Hydro

Support hydropower by integrating advanced manufacturing technologies to lower costs, improve performance, and reduce manufacturing times.

This challenge is closed

stage:
Won
prize:
Up to $175,000 in prizes

This challenge is closed

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Forum23
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Summary

Overview

Challenge Overview

I AM Hydro Prize

 

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office’s (WPTO) Innovations in Advanced Manufacturing for Hydropower (I AM Hydro) Prize challenged innovators to leverage advancements in manufacturing and materials to lower costs, improve performance, and reduce manufacturing times of hydropower components and systems.

The I AM Hydro Prize inspired innovators to compete for up to $175,000 in cash prizes to help integrate hydropower with the ingenuity of advanced manufacturing. Participants had 120 days to submit their concept, which consisted of a proposed solution, conceptual drawings, comparison to the state of the art, and justification for how the idea could lead to levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) reductions.

 

 

IMPORTANT DATES

  • Prize open: June 30, 2020
  • Prize closes: October 30, 2020
  • Application Review: November 2, 2020
  • Winners Announcement: December 2020

$175,000 IN CASH PRIZES

The competition distributed up to $175,000 in cash prizes to 11 winners.

 

PRIZE GOALS

The I AM Hydro Prize is designed to:

  • Catalyze the use of advanced manufacturing to drive down levelized costs of hydropower by seeking solutions that can dramatically lower initial capital costs and/or increase annual energy production
  • Inform future investments by identifying targeted, high-impact opportunities to apply advances in manufacturing to address hydropower’s critical challenges, which may be used to inform future funding opportunities
  • Bring new innovators into the hydropower sector and help form new partnerships and collaborations between industry, academia, and government to accelerate innovative advanced manufacturing technologies for hydropower.

For further information, please review the official rules for the application process and instructions for competing.

 


Guidelines

Who can participate?

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

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

We’re also looking for recommendations on how to best structure this contest to attract groundbreaking ideas that will spark tomorrow’s hydropower solutions. If you’re not interested in competing but want to help develop and review submissions, please feel free to contact us.

 

Timeline
Updates7

Challenge Updates

And the I AM Hydro Prize winners are...

Dec. 23, 2020, 1:48 p.m. PST by NREL Prize Moderator

On December 18, 2020, 11 I AM Hydro Prize winners were selected, each receiving a share of the $175,000 cash prize pot.

Congratulations to our prize-winning teams:

  • Grand prize: Cadens, LLC, Utility of Large Area AM for Small Hydro
  • Innovator prizes: 
  • Skuld LLC, Additive Manufacturing Evaporative Casing 
  • AI-Driven Design Optimization of Turbines
  • Interphase Materials, Anti-Fouling Coating for Hydropower Cost Reduction
  • Fusion-Free Fabrication, Augmented Repair via Additive Manufacturing
  • Composite Magnet for Hydropower Generators 
  • Ceramic Rust Universal Sealant Technology
  • Multiscale Systems, Lowering Costs with Mechanical Metamaterials 
  • RCAM Technologies, Retrofitting of Non-Powered Dams Using 3-D Concrete Printing 
  • Mazdak International Inc, Semi-Solid Casting for Hydro-Turbines 
  • Super-frictionless Surfaces Quasi-R® 

And congratulations to all of our amazing finalists for their work over the past few months, from the start of this competition through to the end. We appreciate everyone's engagement and wish you all success in moving your concepts forward!


Time is running out. Submit your concepts now!

Oct. 30, 2020, 10:45 a.m. PDT by Tessa Greco

I AM Hydro Innovators, 

You still have time to enter your idea to lower costs, improve performance, and reduce manufacturing times of hydropower components and systems using advanced manufacturing techniques and materials, but not for much longer.

Be sure to prepare all submission content and hit the submit button before 5pm EDT TODAY, Friday, October 30, 2020. Don't leave your piece of $250,000 on the table!

If you have any questions, reach out to us on the forum, or send us an email at IAMHydro@nrel.gov.

-The I AM Hydro Prize Team


Last Chance to Enter and Win a Piece of the $250,000 Prize Pool!

Oct. 27, 2020, 6 a.m. PDT by Tessa Greco

I AM Hydro Innovators, 

With the deadline extended through October 30, you still have time to enter your idea to lower costs, improve performance, and reduce manufacturing times of hydropower components and systems using advanced manufacturing techniques and materials.

Be sure to prepare all submission content and hit the submit button before 5pm EDT on Friday, October 30, 2020. Don't leave your piece of $250,000 on the table!

If you have any questions, reach out to us on the forum, or send us an email at IAMHydro@nrel.gov.

-The I AM Hydro Prize Team


I AM Hydro Prize Submission Deadline Extended

Sept. 21, 2020, 3:25 p.m. PDT by NREL Prize Moderator

The Innovations in Advanced Manufacturing for Hydropower (I AM Hydro) Prize submission deadline has been extended to October 30, 2020.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us on the forum. 

 

Thank you, 

- The I AM Hydro Prize Team 


Applicant Webinar Recording: Now Available

Aug. 13, 2020, 8:52 a.m. PDT by Jenny Wiegele


Forum23
Teams474
Entries
Resources
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, but it’s quick and easy. Just click the “Accept Challenge” button on this page and follow the instructions to complete your registration. All you need to provide is your name and email address.

The prize competition is open only to: (a) citizens or permanent residents of the United States; and (b) private or non-federal public entities, such as townships, tribes, corporations, or other organizations that are incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States. Individuals can compete alone or as a member of a group. 

A representative of a private entity can register the entity to compete. If an entity is legally formed under the laws of a State or the laws of the United States, individuals working under that entity may participate regardless of immigration status. 

These restrictions apply to the entity receiving the prize funds.  It is beyond the scope of DOE's concern whether eligible participants consult with other parties on this challenge or other matters. Any individual or organization that seeks to communicate with other parties interested in this prize is welcome to do so on the community page.

DOE employees, employees of sponsoring organizations, members of their immediate families (spouses, children, siblings, and parents), and any persons living in the same household as such persons (even if unrelated) are not eligible to participate in this prize. Federal entities and federal employees, acting within the scope of their employment, are also not eligible to participate in any portion of this prize. DOE National Laboratory employees cannot participate in any stage of the prize.

Unfortunately, employees of a DOE national laboratory are not allowed to compete in any prize contest in this program.

No. If you are a contest winner, you are receiving the prize for meeting or exceeding the contest goals.

The I AM Hydro Prize is funded by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) and administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Yes. We encourage you to promote your concept to universities and other technical outlets.

If you have a question not answered in the FAQ, we recommend that you post it in the forum, where someone will respond to you. This way, others who may have the same question will be able to see it.

You may also contact us directly at .