The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the opportunity to apply for a total of $5,000,000 from Fiscal Years (FY) 2022, 2023, and 2024 in Public Transportation Innovation Program (49 U.S.C. § 5312) funds for a competitive cooperative agreement to develop and manage a new FTA Technology Transfer (T2) Program.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) launched the $500 million Renew America’s Schools Program to promote the implementation of energy improvements at K-12 public schools across the country. This is a first-of-its-kind investment made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The program supports the implementation of infrastructure improvements in schools, with a focus on local educational agencies (LEAs) that qualify as rural and/or high poverty.
The 2025 Renew America’s Schools Prize consists of three phases. During Phase 1, competitors will build teams and curate lists of at least 10 schools and school facilities that demonstrate compelling need and eligibility for investment. Up to 14 Phase 1 Winners will earn a cash prize of $300,000 for successfully building teams and submitting compelling applications identifying need. DOE will down select to identify winners who may move on to Phases 2 and 3, wherein they will enter and execute Cooperative Agreements with DOE.
Applications for the 2025 IdeaFunding pitch competition are now live. Entrepreneurs will need to submit applications before January 15, 2025. IdeaFunding is Southern Arizona’s largest and longest entrepreneurial conference and pitch competition, where this year over $50,000 in prizes will be awarded to Arizona-based companies on March 27, 2025, as part of the 2025 TENWEST Festival. IdeaFunding is co-led by Startup Tucson and the University of Arizona Center for Innovation (UACI) and presented by the Arizona Commerce Authority. This year’s pitch competition will support startups with a wide variety of available prizes valued from $1,000 to $25,000 which include a mix of cash and services. Main-stage first and second-place prize winners will receive a sponsored year in the UACI incubator program, a prize valued at $10,000. There will also be four vertical stages, each awarding prizes, along with specialty prizes like the Adelante Arizona prize for diverse founders sponsored by Community Investment Corporation.
The American-Made Partnerships to Accelerate Training & Hiring for Geothermal Heat Pumps (GHP PATHs) Prize is a $3 million-dollar prize competition designed to hire, certify, and train the current and next generation of geothermal heat pump workers. In Phase 1, competitors submit a narrative describing their vision for building a sustainable pathway to training and hiring in their defined region. Up to 20 winning teams will receive $40,000 each in cash and will be eligible to compete in Phase 2.
The Industrial Energy Storage Systems Prize is a $4.8 million challenge sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO). The prize seeks cost-effective energy storage concepts for industrial facilities that enhance energy efficiency and industrial decarbonization and are applicable across industrial sectors.
This prize supports the acceleration of market adoption for cost-effective thermal energy storage technologies that can be charged by thermal or electrical sources, and provide heating, cooling, and/or power to industrial facilities.
The American-Made Promoting Registration of Inverters and Modules with Ecolabel (PRIME) Prize is a two-phase, $2.7 million competition aimed at increasing EPEAT registration of solar PV modules and inverters. The goal is to help manufacturers meet the high bar for EPEAT product standards and make their products more attractive to purchasers with sustainability goals. The prize incentivizes the registration of PV module and inverter products through the EPEAT ecolabel. EPEAT is an ecolabel operated and maintained by the Global Electronics Council (GEC) for certain electronic products, including solar PV modules and inverters.
As part of National Small Business Week, the U.S. Small Business Administration takes the opportunity to highlight the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs, small business owners, and community members from all 50 states and U.S. territories. Every day, they’re working to grow small businesses, create 21st century jobs, drive innovation, and increase America’s global competitiveness. And in recognizing the changing face of America, the SBA’s National Small Business Week awards honor individuals and businesses that reflect our nation’s rich diversity.
The IGF builds on decades of technical expertise and market analysis accumulated at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the nation’s only federal lab dedicated to renewable energy and energy efficiency research. We are strongly committed to our mission of connecting cutting-edge startups with motivated investors. Presenting companies are chosen from applicants vetted by a selection committee of more than 150 climate tech and cleantech investors and industry experts. This rigorous screening process provides beneficial feedback to startups that apply. The top 40 companies are invited to present.
The Energy and Food Sovereignty Nexus Prize encourages Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) to develop student-led demonstration projects that increase their knowledge on clean energy and food sovereignty on TCU campuses. Projects may include but are not limited to:
TCUs are encouraged to incorporate local traditional crops and/or livestock into their designs, as well as relevant clean energy systems to ensure food is sustainably grown for their environments. Students’ valuable exposure and hands-on experience in energy and food sovereignty can then be shared to benefit Tribes.
Sponsored by the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the American-Made EnergyTech University Prize (EnergyTech UP) challenges student teams to compete for cash prizes for successfully identifying a promising energy technology, assessing its market potential, and creating a business plan for commercialization. Faculty are challenged to create innovative implementation plans that expand energy technology commercialization.
Students: Develop and present a business plan that leverages National Laboratory-developed or other emerging energy technologies developed by students, faculty, or industry. Throughout the competition, they receive mentorship and materials to help them succeed, all while competing for more than $400,000 in cash prizes.
Faculty: Develop and implement educational activities to engage more students in energy technology commercialization and entrepreneurship topics at their institution. While faculty have always been, and remain, welcome and encouraged to mentor a team competing in EnergyTech UP, this new track is designed to incentivize and support faculty directly, with more than $100,000 in cash prizes available.
The American-Made Community Power Accelerator Prize is a $10 million prize competition designed to fast-track the efforts of new, emerging, and expanding solar developers and codevelopers to grow multiple successful community-benefiting distributed solar projects. Round 3 of the prize seeks organizations that have the desire and ambition to develop and finance a portfolio of two or more projects that, in aggregate, total at least 1 MW AC of distributed solar generation. To be eligible, no single portfolio project may exceed 5 MW AC. Distributed solar projects may include but are not limited to:
Each year, Design Challenge teams create high-performance, low-carbon building designs that address real-world issues such as community impacts, affordability, and resilience. Finalist teams are invited to the competition event at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, in April 2025 to compete against U.S. and international teams.
