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
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 $900,000 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!
Up to 20
Up to $1,000,000 distributed equally among each winner with $50,000 per winner.
Set!
Up to 10
$1,000,000 in total cash prizes and $750,000 in total vouchers. Each winner will receive a cash prize of $100,000 and up to $75,000 in vouchers.
Go!
Up to 2
$500,000 in cash and up to $75,000 in vouchers per winner
The Ready! Set! and Go! Contests
It all starts with a big idea. 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 / up to 20 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 / up to 10 winners / up to $100,000 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 / up to 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.
Twelve months. Ten teams. Three contests. Two winners. One shot.
It all comes down to this.
Today, we will find out who is named the Solar Prize Round 3 final winners—and Round 4 semifinalists. The announcements will happen in conjunction with the Solar Prize Demo Day and Networking Event. The networking portion of the event takes place today from 1-3 p.m. ET, with the Round 3 winner and Round 4 semifinalist announcements happening at 2 p.m. ET.
The networking event is a great opportunity for solar innovators to connect with their fellow competitors, Solar Prize alumni, Connectors, and other industry professionals. We invite anyone interested in solar to attend this event.
After a year of competing, two teams of Round 3 solar innovators will each earn $500,000 in cash prizes and $75,000 in technical support vouchers for their ingenious idea to change the solar industry. Plus, we’ll kick off the Round 4 competition by announcing the 20 semifinalist teams who will move on to compete in the Set! Contest. This is a monumental event for the Solar Prize and the future of solar energy.
The Solar Prize administrators and Nation of Makers invite all competitors, industry experts, cleantech investors, and anyone interested in solar innovation to join the Solar Prize Demo Day and Networking Event on Friday, Dec. 4, from 1-3 p.m. ET.
This is an excellent opportunity to meet key solar players, including Solar Prize competitors, members of the American-Made Network, and other industry professionals. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Energy will announce the Round 3 winners and Round 4 semifinalists during the event at 2 p.m.
This session is free and open to anyone who wants to connect with other solar leaders. Whether you’re actively competing in the Solar Prize or just want to connect with industry experts, you’re invited to attend the Solar Prize Demo Day and Networking Event.
The Solar Prize Round 3 finalists are one step closer to competition completion! The 10 competing teams submitted their last pitch videos showcasing the progress they’ve made since earning their finalist titles in July 2020.
Here’s a recap of the technologies competing for $500,000 as a final winner:
Team Enertronics Inc.: This team is developing a high-voltage, direct current (DC) power optimizer small enough to be built into a module junction box.
Team infiniRel Corp.: This team developed a patented hardware/software system that monitors solar inverters while they’re operating to detect component deterioration as well as software control issues.
Team Maxout Renewables: This team developed a cost-effective system that turns a residential solar installation into a microgrid that can keep power on during a grid outage.
Team Pursuit Solar: This team’s passive solar tracker enables panels to capture more solar energy without motors, controls, or external power. A small concentrated mirror system heats paraffin wax, which rotates the panels to track the sun when they’re properly positioned.
Team Renu Robotics Corp.: This team is developing an autonomous electric lawnmower for utility-scale solar power plants that can maintain hundreds of acres a month without human interaction.
Team Shine: This team is developing a small, lightweight, low-cost PV system with battery storage that does not require technical expertise to install, making it suitable for transitional homes and emergency management response.
Team TrackerSled: This team is developing a mobile solar array for farms that uses tractors mounted on pontoon skis to tow two digitally controlled single-axis solar trackers. The trackers follow the sun’s movement to capture sunlight on solar panels. The array’s mobility will help farmers rotate their cash crop and cover crop fields, improving soil health, income, and power generation.
Team Uplift Solar Corp.: This team is developing a chip that is both a direct-current converter and a maximum power point tracker that can be embedded in a module. It will have a microprocessor that enables power line communication, ensuring module compliance with code updates.
Team Verify Energy Inc.: This team is developing a self-powered device for utility-scale PV plants that monitors communications by combining the data logger, cellular modem, and data plan.
Team Wattch Inc.: This team combines cost-effective hardware with secure, scalable software to deliver insights and increase operational efficiency for PV plants. This will result in predictive maintenance schedules that lower downtime, improve remote and automated diagnostics, and better model a plant’s lifetime energy yield.
Finally, connect with these solar entrepreneurs at the Solar Prize Demo Day and Networking Event, hosted by Nation of Makers, on Dec. 4 from 1-3 p.m. ET. The Round 3 winners and Round 4 semifinalists will be announced at 2 p.m. ET. This event is free and open to all solar professionals, investors, and Round 3 fans.
On Nov. 9, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the solar topics for the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) funding program for fiscal year 2021. 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. Successful awardees can then receive up to $1.1 million for prototype development.
DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office is hosting an informational webinar on Thursday, Nov. 19, at 1 p.m. ET to discuss the solar energy SBIR/STTR topics. DOE is seeking projects that advance early-stage ideas in the following topics:
Floating Solar-Powered Aeration Systems
Solar Systems Resilient to Weather-Related or Cyber Threats
Innovation in Solar Aesthetics for Residential Photovoltaic Systems
Commercial and Industrial Solar Systems
Agricultural Solar Systems
Components for Generation 3 Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power (Gen3 CSP) Thermal Transport Systems
Affordability, Reliability, and Performance of Solar Technologies
Conductivity-Enhanced Materials for Affordable, Breakthrough Leapfrog Electric and Thermal Applications (CABLE): Electrical Connections for Photovoltaic Modules and Systems Subtopic.
Additionally, there are two technology transfer opportunities, which are designed to transfer a patented technology from a national lab to a small business for commercialization:
Method for Mechanical Load Testing of Photovoltaic (PV) Modules with Concurrently Applied Stressors and Diagnostic Methods
The American-Made Solar Prize Round 3 finalist teams have been working hard over the past few months, preparing to pitch their technology during Go! Demo Day. Since learning of their status as Round 3 finalists in July 2020, these 10 teams have been substantially advancing their solutions from proofs-of-concept to refined prototypes and finding partners to perform pilot tests of the prototypes.
Go! Demo Day marks the finale of Round 3, with two final winners being announced on Dec. 4 at the virtual Solar Prize Demo Day and Networking Event. Here’s what Round 3 Go! Demo Day will look like:
Nov. 5: Teams submitted a 5-minute demo and pitch video.
Dec. 1: Teams and industry investors participate in an invite-only pitch showcase and investor forum hosted by the University of Arizona Center for Innovation.
Dec. 3: Teams participate in a private Q&A session with a panel of expert reviewers.
Dec. 4: Solar Prize Demo Day and Networking Event, from 1-3 p.m. ET. Two final Round 3 winners will be announced, each winning $500,000 in cash prizes and $75,000 in technical support. Round 4 semifinalists will also be revealed. Announcements start at 2 p.m. ET.
The Solar Prize administrators and Nation of Makers invite all competitors, industry experts, cleantech investors, and anyone interested in solar innovation to join the Solar Prize Demo Day and Networking Event on Friday, Dec. 4, from 1-3 p.m. ET. The Round 3 winners and Round 4 semifinalists will be announced during the event at 2 p.m. This session is free and open to anyone who wants to connect with other solar leaders.
