Manufacturing Accelerator for Domestic Energy in the U.S.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are working together to launch the first prize challenge associated with the American-Made Challenge.
The American-Made Solar Prize (Solar Prize):
- Accelerates the development of technologies and solutions that will advance the solar industry
- Enables rapid prototyping of ground-breaking solar solutions and prove their viability
- Provides connections to a network of solar industry experts, fabricators, and developers
- Connects entrepreneurs with the investor community to help solar businesses and technical solutions scale
The Solar Prize will identify innovative concepts with direct impact on the energy industry by engaging the public and industry experts to generate ideas for solving tough technical problems facing the solar industry. The ideation step will enable the public to submit creative ideas and vote on these ideas. Based on this community input, teams will form to develop solutions for these issues. Teams will be connected with a network of industry experts, developers, fabricators, incubators, and potential investors to help accelerate their business models and technical solutions.
The Solar Prize will enable rapid proof-of-concept development, testing, and validation. This will be accomplished by connecting participating teams with network experts that can take technical solutions to the next level, providing seed funding to accelerate the development of these solutions, and facilitate real-time customer/investor feedback to guide iterations and improve innovation, market value, and manufacturing readiness.
The Solar Prize will help teams develop strategic and business plans, learn about investment and funding instruments, and assist teams in laying successful pathways to grow their business. Focus will be placed on utilizing the network of experts and investors to help guide decisions on product and business scaling. And, of course, prize money will be awarded to winning teams!
Who can participate?
Entrepreneurs, technologists, software and hardware developers, incubators and accelerators, and investors are all welcome and encouraged to join the network and be part of the ground-breaking change that will accelerate innovation in solar technologies and manufacturing approaches.
When can I participate in this prize challenge?
DOE and NREL are working to launch the American-Made Solar Prize very soon! Please check back to learn more about start dates and plans for the program.
Source: americanmadechallenge.org
