Solar Prize Round 7

If you’re applying for Solar Prize Round 7, make sure your application is submitted by Sept. 27, 5 p.m. ET! We highly encourage you to apply early to avoid technical difficulties. The submission portal closes at 5 pm ET sharp, so make sure you hit submit before then!

Make sure you’re familiar with the Official Rules and what’s expected of each submission. Get ready to tell us about a critical need in the solar industry, your solution for meeting that need, and how you plan to build a proof of concept for this solution. Remember, we’re looking for something that has the potential to be commercialized in 3 to 5 years. 

Would your solution help accelerate solar adoption in underserved communities? We encourage you to include an entry in the optional Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Contest that describes how your organization is integrating JEDI principles into your innovation. 

Looking for inspiration to get your submission over the finish line? Solar Prize alumni have shared their success stories and advice for competitors in a few short videos. Check them out now!

We strongly encourage competitors to engage the American-Made Network to gain help and support, especially Power Connectors who are available to help provide feedback and guidance on your submission. You can also stream the informational webinar to catch up on prize basics, post a question in the HeroX Forum, or email the prize team at .  

And don’t forget—even if your submission doesn’t win the Ready! Contest, it may be eligible for the Power Up Contest, which offers cash prizes and tailored business support to get your submission ready for a future prize. 

We look forward to seeing your innovative concepts! 

New resources are available for teams preparing to apply for Solar Prize Round 7! Power Connectors VentureWell and ADL Ventures have created several helpful videos, or learning modules—with more on the way—covering key topics that can be helpful for potential applicants. 

Check out the following as you’re preparing your submission to learn more about how to best position your innovation: 

• Intro to Non-Dilutive Funding and the Advantages of the Prize Mechanism 
• Economic Value Creation 
• Customer Discovery 
• Successful Business Model and Value Proposition Design in Solar

You can access these learning modules, along with future videos, in the HeroX resources tab.

As a reminder, the Power Connectors are available to provide free submission support! Contact one of the Power Connectors for application review and assistance.

If you have further questions, stream the informational webinar recording, view the presentation slides, or reach out to prize administrators at . And don’t forget: The deadline for all submissions is Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 5 p.m. ET. Just click “Solve This Challenge” on the HeroX page!

Does your idea or innovation have the potential to be in the solar marketplace within 3 to 5 years? The ability to commercialize your program or product is a key piece of the Solar Prize Round 7, but what exactly does that mean? 

Commercialization is the process of taking a research-based idea and turning it into a business-based solution ready for widespread adoption by customers. Participation in the Solar Prize enables you to advance your impactful solar technology idea through the proof-of-concept and prototype phases of the commercialization process. 

For the purposes of the Solar Prize, you should demonstrate that your idea can complete the commercialization process in 3 to 5 years. The complete commercialization process can include steps related to:

1. Research and development – If you’ve completed this phase, you are prepared to enter the Ready! Contest. Winners have an impactful idea or solution for a solar technology that could be commercialized in 3 to 5 years, addressing a critical need in the solar industry.
2. Proof of concept - The Set! Contest is your opportunity to substantially advance your technology or solution toward a viable and promising proof of concept.
3. Prototype - The Go! Contest helps you substantially advance your technology or solution from proof of concept to a refined prototype and find a partner to perform a pilot test of the prototype.

After completing these early phases of the commercialization process, you’ll be prepared to advance to the remaining phases after the competition concludes:

4. Testing and optimization

5. Mass production scale-up and manufacturing

6. Regulatory approvals

7. Market analysis and strategy

8. Launch and distribution

Remember, your Solar Prize entry must be capable of completing this commercialization process (phases 1 to 8) within 3 to 5 years. If you aren’t quite sure how to plan for commercialization, reach out to a Power Connector for support on developing your plan. 

We look forward to reviewing your Round 7 Ready! Contest applications, due by Sept. 27!

If you’re applying for Solar Prize Round 7—and attending RE+ in Las Vegas—make sure to check out the full schedule of American-Made events happening throughout the conference. It’s a great way to connect with partners and get prepared to submit your application on Sept. 27! 

View the full schedule of interesting and informative events and networking opportunities. 

Monday, Sept. 11

• American-Made Mixer Hosted by University of Arizona Center for Innovation
  5:30–7:30 p.m. | The Oak Room Whiskey and Tequila Bar (Venetian Hotel)
  Join us for an opportunity to mix and mingle with UACI staff as well as American-Made network members and team members, and past and present prize competitors. Light appetizers and cash bar will be provided; please RSVP if you’d like to join this free event!

Tuesday, Sept. 12 

• Booth Pop-Up: Community Solar Prizes & Opportunities
  1–2 p.m. | Booth #18028
  Hear about the array of American-Made community solar prizes open for submissions, and learn more about how to find resources, support, and additional funding for your community solar initiatives. 
   
• Booth Pop-Up: Solar Prize Power Connectors 
  2–3 p.m. | Booth #18028
  Applying for Solar Prize Round 7? Join the American-Made team, VentureWell, and University of Arizona Center for Innovation to learn how Power Connectors can provide resources and feedback to help your application stand out.
   
• Solar Prize Round 6 Go! Demo Day & Winner Announcement
  4–6 p.m. | Innovation Stage
  Come see the nation’s top solar innovators take the stage to pitch their solutions to the industry’s top challenges, then stick around to find out who wins the $500,000 prize!

Wednesday, Sept. 13

• Panel: Increasing Renewable Energy Workforce Development in Underserved Communities
  9:30–10:30 a.m. | Innovation Stage
  Listen in on this engaging discussion, featuring members from a diverse pool of government and industry organizations, to learn about workforce development strategies, priorities, and how we can strengthen our energy workforce by bringing in more diverse experiences and perspectives.
   
• QuickTalk: How Your Startup Can Win Big
  11–11:30 a.m. | Innovation Stage
  Stop by to learn how the American-Made program can help take your startup to the next level with no-strings-attached funding for your energy innovation. 
   
• Booth Pop-Up: American-Made Network
  1–2 p.m. | Booth #18028
  The American-Made Network is made up of more than 400 organizations that offer help to prize competitors and startups. Come learn how to use the Network to find support for your startup—or consider joining the Network to help solve some of the nation’s leading energy challenges! 
   
• American-Made Innovators Coffee Chat with ADL Ventures 
  3:30–4:30 p.m. | Booth #18028
  Join Connector ADL Ventures for an opportunity to chat with other industry leaders and professionals about upcoming prizes and competitions, hear about other opportunities to connect with investors, and enjoy light refreshments! 

If you can incorporate principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) into your Solar Prize innovation, you could win additional cash prizes through the JEDI Contest. This optional bonus prize rewards solutions that address barriers to solar adoption and deployment in underserved communities. Your submission could be considered for the JEDI Contest throughout Round 7, with $200,000 in additional prizes available in Ready!, Set!, and Go!.

Why JEDI?

There are numerous barriers to accelerating the growth of solar in underserved communities in the United States, including some that can be overcome with hardware and software innovations. Solar deployment in underserved communities can bring direct cost savings, public health benefits, job opportunities, and resilience when paired with energy storage technologies.

JEDI Contest competitors must show how their solution addresses solar market barriers to adoption and deployment in underserved communities and work to substantially advance their approach toward JEDI goals as they progress through the competition.

See JEDI Contest details in section 1.4 of the Solar Prize Round 7 Rules.

What’s Considered Eligible? 

In order to be eligible for the JEDI Contest, your solution must clearly show how it will incorporate key equity principles in a measurable way. Examples of JEDI-focused innovations for underserved communities can include application-specific hardware designed for low-cost adoption, as well as software and business model innovations to:

• Help facilitate community access to financing
• Allocate the benefits of shared assets throughout the community
• Improve customer outreach and engagement within the community
• Streamline project development. 

Although the JEDI Contest is focused on solutions benefiting underserved communities, team diversity and inclusion is important to the Solar Prize and is part of the “Team” evaluation criteria at each stage. All Solar Prize competitors are encouraged to incorporate diversity and inclusion principles into their organization’s vision, mission, policies, and processes, regardless of participation in the JEDI Contest.

Past Winners

In the Solar Prize Round 5, Midday Tech won the final JEDI Contest prize for their platform that connects consumers who purchase voluntary carbon offsets with rooftop solar projects in high-impact communities. Individuals interested in fighting climate change can sign up to have their money directly contribute to the installation of rooftop solar panels. 

In Solar Prize Round 6, the following teams have won the Ready! and/or Set! JEDI Contests: 

• Portable Solar won for developing a ground-based solar panel mounting system that can be assembled by anyone and connected by an electrician. This system is convenient for renters, rural households, and tribal areas, increasing solar adoption opportunities.
• Hawai’i Innovation won for designing an off-grid, small-scale concentrated solar-thermal power desalination system that harvests heat from the sun to produce fresh water. This modular, affordable, and efficient desalination system can deliver potable water to areas with freshwater shortages.
• Snow-Free Solar won for developing a durable strip coating that is applied to the lower edge of solar panels to help shed snow. By shedding snow from panels in a quick and low-cost way, solar plants continue to operate efficiently year-round.
• RUTE Foundation Systems won for developing a high-clearance single-axis tracker for photovoltaic systems that can be integrated into active farmland (agrivoltaics). Using raised cables to stabilize and move the panels, this technology lowers costs and uses less steel than traditional agrivoltaic racking systems.
• ReJoule won for developing a fast, new method for testing the health of decommissioned electric vehicle batteries and using these batteries to develop an integrated solution for storing solar power and dispatching it at peak hours. This allows for fast screening of used batteries and certification for use in grid scale storage of solar energy.

You can also view the winning JEDI submissions for Solar Prize Round 5 and Solar Prize Round 6.

Don’t forget to submit your Ready! Contest application for Round 7 by Sept. 27.