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.
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.
One of the biggest deterrents for solar panel adoption is aesthetic. That’s why Solar Prize Round 2 semifinalist Team Asoleyo from Herndon, VA, is creating decorative solar tiles. The artist-led team is quickly learning about solar panel intricacies with the help of researchers at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte; business development advisors at Red Blue Collective; and even a Solar Prize alum.
Learn more about the innovation that helped Team Asoleyo win $50,000 in the Round 2 Ready! Contest. You can see them pitch their power router technology at Set! Demo Day at Carnegie Mellon University on March 27.
Team SolPaver is paving the way for American Solar innovation! After winning the Round 2 Ready! Contest, this semifinalist team from New Braunfels, TX, has developed a crucial partnership. They’re providing high-strength, low-cost solar path pavers to over 15,000 single-family homes in the largest master-planned community in Southern California.
Learn more about the innovation that helped Team SolPaver win $50,000 in the Round 2 Ready! Contest. You can see them pitch their power router technology at Set! Demo Day at Carnegie Mellon University on March 27.
Solar Prize Round 2 semifinalist Team Zitara Technologies is testing out a fun market—e-scooters! The Oakland, CA, team is working with an e-scooter partner to pilot test their batteries for residential and grid-scale storage. The team also recently visited the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to discuss a new testing partnership.
Learn more about the innovation that helped Team Zitara Technologies win $50,000 in the Round 2 Ready! Contest. You can see them pitch their power router technology at Set! Demo Day at Carnegie Mellon University on March 27.
This Solar Prize Round 2 semifinalist team is taking American Solar global! Team Terra Pave, from Austin, TX, is manufacturing in the U.S. and globally distributing their cost-effective ground treatment to help increase reflection for bi-facial panels. The team is doing business across the world, including Malaysia, India, Germany, and Vietnam, where they’ll provide the largest solar project in Southeast Asia.
Learn more about the innovation that helped Team Terra Pave win $50,000 in the Round 2 Ready! Contest. You can see them pitch their power router technology at Set! Demo Day at Carnegie Mellon University on March 27.
Happy Set! submission day! Thank you to everyone who got their deliverables in and we are eager to start reviewing them.
We wanted to remind you about tomorrow’s Set! Demo Day Prep Webinar taking place from 1:30-2:30 p.m. ET. The NREL Solar Prize team will be joined by CMU to walk through logistics of Demo Day and what you need to prepare before the event. During this webinar, we will be reviewing:
Goals for Set! Demo Day
Pitch scoring and winner selection
Event logistics, including the agenda, pitch prep, pitch order, table displays, and more
Expert reviewer Q & A
Deadlines and deliverables.
We’ll also have a Q & A session at the end of the webinar to answer all questions. We highly recommend at least one person from your team attends the webinar.
