August 26, 2021 | Andy Barnes, Director of Policy and Communications, CEBN
The American-Made Solar Prize is back! The latest iteration of this competition, Round 5, is offering solar innovators $4.6 million in total cash prizes.
This prize competition is designed to energize 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. Solar Prize Round 5 is structured with two tracks that focus separately on hardware and software components to allow more entrepreneurs to compete in the solar innovation space.
On August 20th, the CEBN held a webinar which offered an overview of this competition and featured a previous winner who offered insights into how best to prepare a winning application. Watch the webinar recording below. Access the slide presentation here.
The Solar Prize Round 5 Hardware Track offers $3 million in cash prizes over three progressive contests to competitors who are developing physical solar innovations that energize U.S. manufacturing. The Solar Prize Round 5 Software Track is a software prize that offers $1.6 million in cash prizes over three progressive contests to competitors who are accelerating the development, validation, and commercialization of new innovative solar software solutions that increase the competitiveness of the U.S. solar industry.
Keep in mind there are separate rules and online submission portals for the two prizes. If your solar innovation focuses on a physical component, manufacturing process, or producible product, the Hardware Track is for you. If your solar innovation focuses on communications, computation, data systems, information technology, or business models with a software focus, the Software Track is for you. Be sure you access the appropriate portal on the HeroX website!
The deadline to apply for the first stage of each track is Tuesday, October 5 at 5:00 PM ET.
How to apply:
Reach out to the CEBN should you have any questions about this prize or need help navigating the application process.
Additional resources are provided below:
