The impacts of climate change have not fallen evenly across the U.S., with low-income populations and populations of color facing disproportionately higher exposure to pollution and risk. These communities have also been full of innovators and change-makers, but have historically lacked access to resources from clean energy and climate initiatives. The Biden Administration has launched the Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver 40% of climate investment benefits to disadvantaged communities and inform equitable research, development, and deployment within DOE. As a result, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Department of Energy (DOE) have created a new, cross-cutting funding opportunity to support community partnerships. 

The Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize will provide a total of $2.5 million in funding to up to 10 teams to advance programs advancing a just and equitable transition, building community partnerships, and creating a more vibrant, representative clean energy ecosystem. The winners of Phase One will receive cash awards of $200,000 each. Phase One winners will be eligible to participate in a Phase Two of the prize 12 months later, during which time it is anticipated that a total of $500,000 will be awarded to up to three teams. 

The Clean Energy Business Network is a nationwide nonprofit that serves as the small business voice for the clean energy economy. Our team is working with the Department of Energy and Small Business Administration to help ensure that federal grant dollars for clean energy technology innovation and economic growth reach a more representative range of the U.S. population. We want to make sure every eligible applicant knows about these funding opportunities and receives the support needed to successfully compete for these funds.

The deadline for this prize has passed.

Make sure you’re signed up for the CEBN newsletter to learn about similar relevant funding opportunities, or check our cleantech funding database.

Funding details:

• This funding opportunity is intentionally broad. Innovators and activists in the climate and clean energy space are encouraged to apply with ideas they know will be the most impactful for their community. Both proposed and ongoing projects will be considered.
• NREL and DOE will be using the Justice 40 definitions for “underserved communities.”
• The full list of criteria and rules for this prize can be found here.
• A new version of the template for the Impact Plan can be found here.

The application, which consists primarily of an impact plan and a 3-minute video, is due on February 25th at 5 pm ET.

How to Submit an Application:

• Navigate to the HeroX webpage for the Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize.
• Click “Solve this Challenge.” You will be prompted to create an account if you don’t already have one.
• Read through the prize rules and accept.
• Once you accept the rules, the screen will then prompt you to register a team, join a team, or compete individually. If your partner has an account as well, you can join them. If not, you can list them on your application directly.
• Now that you are registered, you can click “Begin Entry” to start filling out and uploading application material. Click “Save and Preview” to either submit your final entry or to exit and return to the application later. Only one person on your team should submit an application.

Have last-minute questions about applying? Post them on the HeroX forum to receive a response from one of the prize administrators (please note the forum is monitored Monday-Friday 8:00am-5:00pm MT).

Past Event Recordings:

• Department of Energy’s Informational Webinar – November 17
• CEBN Inclusive Energy Stakeholder Town Hall – January 11
• Department of Energy’s Informational Webinar – January 12
• CEBN Inclusive Energy Ideation and Teaming Event – January 26
• CEBN Inclusive Energy Office Hours – February 4; password – CleanEnergy2022
• CEBN Inclusive Energy Office Hours – February 22; password – Inclusive2022