The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) partners with the American-Made program to administer most of its prizes and competitions on the HeroX.com platform for students, researchers, innovators—anyone with a creative idea.
Prizes offer competitors:
- Faster access to DOE funding.
- Opportunities to gain career experience working with new energy technologies.
- Collaboration with public, private, and philanthropic entities supporting and sponsoring a prize.
- Cash awards and recognition for excellence in a particular area.
Our prizes address four main themes:
Students and professionals—especially those in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields—can get involved with a prize or competition that could help them jumpstart a career in renewable energy, energy efficiency, or sustainable transportation. Competitors learn about new technologies, make connections through the American-Made Network, and build a foundation for working toward U.S. energy goals. Open and in-progress student and workforce-based prizes and competitions include the:
- AlgaePrize
- Battery Workforce Challenge
- Collegiate Wind Competition
- EcoCAR EV Challenge
- Geothermal Collegiate Competition
- GHP PATHs Prize (Partnerships to Accelerate Training & Hiring for Geothermal Heat Pumps)
- Hydropower Collegiate Competition
- JUMP into STEM
- Marine Energy Collegiate Competition
- Solar Decathlon
- Upskill Prize for the Solar Manufacturing Workforce
This category of prizes offers competitors a chance to win a voucher at one of eight participating U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories. This access can help winners commercialize their technologies by providing them with access to cutting-edge facilities and experts at the national laboratories. Open and in-progress prizes in this category include the:
- Building Envelope Innovation Prize
- CABLE Conductor Manufacturing Prize (Conductivity-enhanced materials for Affordable, Breakthrough Leapfrog Electric and thermal applications (CABLE) Conductor Manufacturing Prize)
- Hydrogen Shot Incubator Prize
- Lighting Prize (L-Prize)
- Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize
- Microbattery Design Prize
- Re-X Before Recycling Prize
- Solar Prize Round 7
- Solar Prize Round 8
Completed prizes in this category include the:
Several prizes focus on the innovation of a specific energy technology to help move the United States towards net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Many of these prizes overlap with those in other categories, like the student and workforce, community energy access and solutions, and national laboratory access categories. Open and in-progress technology prizes include the:
- Battery Workforce Challenge
- Building Envelope Innovation Prize
- Collegiate Wind Competition
- EcoCAR EV Challenge
- E-SCRAP Prize
- Floating Offshore Wind ReadINess (FLOWIN) Prize
- Geothermal Collegiate Competition
- Heliostat Prize
- Hydrogen Shot Incubator Prize
- Hydropower Collegiate Competition
- Innovating Distributed Embedded Energy Prize (InDEEP)
- Large Animal and Solar Systems Operation Prize (LASSO)
- Lighting Prize (L-Prize)
- Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize
- Marine Energy Collegiate Competition
- Microbattery Design Prize
- Power at Sea Prize
- PRIME Prize
- Re-X Before Recycling Prize
- Solar Decathlon
- Solar Desalination Round 2
- Solar Prize Round 8
Completed prizes in this category include the:
The U.S. Department of Energy is always looking for better images and video of energy innovation in action. Click the card to see the growing list of photo and video prizes, including the:
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EERE's American-Made Program
Other EERE Prizes and Competitions
EERE Prizes and Competitions News
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Ten teams receive a collective $1.5 million and Phase 3 opens to returning competitors. -
Six teams were selected for creating cost-effective recycling technologies for U.S. wind energy systems.