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Solar Prize Round 5 Hardware Track

The Solar Prize Round 5 Hardware Track offers $3 million in cash prizes to competitors over three progressive contests.

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stage:
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prize:
$3,000,000

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Summary

Overview

Solar Prize Round 5

The American-Made Solar Prize is a prize competition designed to energize U.S. solar innovation 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.

Rounds 1 through 4 of the Solar Prize focused on solar manufacturing and hardware components. The Solar Prize Round 5 is structured with two tracks that focus separately on hardware and software components to allow more entrepreneurs to compete in the solar innovation space.

Hardware Track

The fifth round of the Solar Prize is designed to spur more solar innovation than ever before by splitting participants into two separate technology-focused tracks. The Solar Prize Round 5 Hardware Track offers $3 million in cash prizes over three progressive contests to competitors who are developing physical solar innovations that energize U.S. manufacturing. 

Why a Hardware Track? 

The Solar Prize has always placed an emphasis on manufacturing solar innovation in the United States. After four successful rounds focusing primarily on tangible technologies, the prize administrators decided to split Round 5 into two tracks—the Hardware Track and the Software Track. Both follow the same prize structure but allow competitors to stay in different lanes to bring both hardware and software products closer to market. 

If your solar innovation focuses on a physical component, manufacturing process, or producible product, the Hardware Track is for you. Learn more by viewing the official rules.

The Solar Prize Contests

The Solar Prize encourages the rapid development of innovative solar energy solutions capable of addressing the tough challenges facing the solar industry. Solar Prize competitors participate in three contests—the Ready! Set! and Go! Contests to transform their ideas into concepts and then early-stage prototypes ready for industry testing. 

The Hardware Track offers $3 million in cash prizes, plus additional support vouchers and connections to national laboratories and industry resources. 


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 contact feature on the HeroX platform or message us directly at.

Timeline
Updates21

Challenge Updates

Solar Prize Round 5 Demo Day and Finalist Announcement Coming Up

April 7, 2022, 11:47 a.m. PDT by NREL Prize Administrator

Find out which teams advance as Solar Prize Round 5 finalists on Friday, April 22! 

The Solar Prize Round 5 Set! Demo Day is coming up for Hardware and Software Track semifinalists. Demo Day kicks off on Tuesday, April 19, with the Software Track semifinalists meeting with a panel of expert reviewers for a closed-door Q&A session. Then, Hardware Track semifinalists will do the same on Thursday, April 21

After the Q&A sessions and reviewer deliberations are complete, the finalist teams will be announced at the American-Made Earth Day Celebration on Friday, April 22, at 12 p.m. ET. During this event, the American-Made team, along with key energy industry players, will highlight the role of innovation and entrepreneurship in a more sustainable, inclusive, and just energy future. 

In addition to the Solar Prize Round 5 finalist announcement, this virtual event will feature guest speakers, prize announcements, education sessions, networking opportunities, and more. In addition to the finalist announcement, the celebration will also include updates from many other prizes, guest speakers, networking sessions, and more. 

Register here for the American-Made Earth Day Celebration on April 22 to find out which Hardware and Software Track teams advance as finalists.

 We hope to see you there! 


Join Us Tomorrow for the Solar Prize Pitch Showcase & Virtual Networking Mixer

March 24, 2022, 11:45 a.m. PDT by NREL Prize Administrator

Tomorrow, March 25, is the day to tune in to the Solar Prize Round 5 Set! Hardware Track Pitch Showcase, part of CMU Energy Week, hosted by Carnegie Mellon University’s Scott Institute. The showcase features presentations from Hardware Track semifinalists who will use the event to practice their pitches, share their solutions with fellow semifinalists, and receive feedback from an industry advisory panel ahead of the Set! Demo Day, where the finalists will be selected.

The general public and Software Track competitors are invited to attend the Hardware Track Pitch Showcase on March 25.

Then, join the CMU Energy Week Virtual Networking Mixer at 3:30 p.m. ET. The mixer is open to anyone looking to forge connections with top innovators, organizations, students, and entrepreneurs in the energy industry.

Register for the Solar Prize Set! Pitch Showcase and the Virtual Networking Mixer. We hope to see you there! 


Solar Prize Set! Pitch Showcase & Networking Mixer Happening March 25

March 15, 2022, 8:02 a.m. PDT by NREL Prize Administrator

Join us for the Solar Prize Round 5 Set! Pitch Showcase on Friday, March 25, during CMU Energy Week, hosted by Carnegie Mellon University’s Scott Institute.

The Set! Pitch Showcase features presentations from Hardware Track semifinalists, who will demonstrate their proof-of-concept, a rigorous customer discovery process, and the development of a network of mentors and partners. 

Competitors will use the event to practice their pitches, showcase their solutions to fellow semifinalists, and receive feedback from an industry advisory panel ahead of Set! Demo Day, where the Set! Contest finalists will be selected.         

The general public is invited to attend the Hardware Track’s Set! Pitch Showcase on March 25 (note: the Software Track Pitch Showcase takes place earlier in the week on March 22). The public is also invited to CMU Energy Week’s Virtual Networking Mixer on March 25 at 3:30 p.m. ET. The mixer is open to anyone looking to forge connections with top innovators, organizations, students, and entrepreneurs in the energy industry. 

We hope to see you there!


Solar Prize Round 5 Hardware Track Ready! Contest Semifinalists Announced!

Dec. 7, 2021, 11:21 a.m. PST by NREL Prize Moderator

We’re excited that 20 teams have been selected and announced as Solar Prize Round 5 Hardware Track Ready! Contest semifinalists by the U.S. Department of Energy. Each of these teams won a $50,000 cash prize and are now eligible to advance to the Set! Contest.

The Hardware Track semifinalist technologies includes innovations in three subject areas: photovoltaics, systems integration, and concentrating solar-thermal power. Here are the Round 5 Hardware Track semifinalists:

Photovoltaics

  • Arcadia SR, Simplifying Residential Solar to a Single Product (El Sobrante, CA)
  • Bio-Inspired 3D-Printed Concrete Anchors for Floating Photovoltaics (Los Angeles, CA)
  • Integrated Greenhouse for Food and Clean Water (East Lansing, MI)
  • Optimizing Landfill Solar Power Production and Return on Investment (Derry, NH) 
  • Patina: Solar That Works in the Shade (San Mateo, CA)
  • Portable Solar Carport With Integrated Electric Vehicle Charger (Sarasota, FL)
  • Rapid Deployment Hybrid Microgrid (Nashville, TN)
  • Roll-Formed Steel Frames for Photovoltaic Modules (Bend, OR)
  • Saving Water With Combined Solar and Agriculture (Scotts Valley, CA)
  • Self-Assembled Solar for Half the Cost (Miami, FL)
  • Solar-Powered Cooling, Heating, and Electricity (San Diego, CA)
  • Spectrum Shifting Nanocoating (Hayward, CA)
  • Sun Deck Solar Electric Vehicle Charging Station (Roswell, GA)
  • Wafer-Free Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells (San Francisco, CA) 

Systems Integration

  • Artificial Intelligence Solar Site Controller Synchronizing Electric Vehicle Charging (Lahaina, HI)
  • Power Electronics for the Next Generation of Photovoltaics (Albuquerque, NM)
  • Riding the Solar Curve (Carlsbad, CA)
  • Solactivator: Economical Backup Power for Blackouts (Fremont, CA)
  • SolarSCADA: Modular SCADA Specific to Solar (Denver, CO)

Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power

  • Ten Thousand Splendid Suns (Orinda, CA)

Learn more about each submission by checking out the HeroX Community tab and view the Software Track semifinalists, too.

There were numerous, impressive submissions to the Ready! Contest. In fact, we received more than 175 submissions from across the country between both Round 5 tracks. Many of these were great ideas but needed additional development and refinement to advance to the next level. 

If you submitted an idea and were not chosen as a semifinalist, we encourage you to keep innovating and looking for opportunities to improve your idea. In the coming weeks, you will receive an e-mail from the prize administrator with comments and feedback on your submission from the judges who reviewed it.

Additional Funding Opportunities

We also suggest applying to U.S. Department of Energy’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) funding program. Through SBIR/STTR, small businesses can receive up to $200,000 to engage in high-risk, innovative research and development with the potential for commercialization. Learn more about the current funding opportunities and how to submit a letter of intent by Jan. 3, 2022.

Several Power Connectors are providing resources and education to help you successfully apply for SBIR/STTR. Learn more and find support by attending one of these upcoming events or reaching out to one of the supporting Power Connectors

Thank You for Your Participation

We want to thank all teams for competing in the Solar Prize Round 5 Ready! Contest and hope you continue to be an active member of the Solar Prize community. Please continue to utilize the American-Made Network to improve your ideas and watch for other opportunities to make them a reality by signing up for our American-Made Challenges Newsletter

Should you have questions, please feel free to reach out at . Congratulations, again, to the Round 5 semifinalists!


Round 5 Ready! Contest Now Closed

Oct. 7, 2021, 7:35 a.m. PDT by NREL Prize Moderator

Thank you to everyone who submitted an entry to the Solar Prize Round 5 Hardware Track’s Ready! Contest. Round 5 is now closed to submissions. We received many entries and are excited to see all the creative ideas out there! 

We hope to announce Round 5 semifinalists in December—stay tuned for the latest updates here. In the meantime, we encourage you to look for other prize opportunities, like the Solar Forecasting Prize, which is coming soon. 

Good luck!


Forum38
Teams556
Entries
Resources
FAQ