U.S. Department of Energy Announces Prize to Accelerate More Equitable Solar Deployment and a New Matchmaking Tool for Clean Tech Innovators Posted on Jun 10, 2021
Tool Connects Makers with Resources to Help Them Address Challenges to Solar Deployment
Washington, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $5 million for the American-Made Solar Prize Round 5, a competition designed to accelerate the commercialization of products needed for widespread, equitable solar energy deployment and domestic manufacturing. DOE also announced a new tool that connects innovators with support from DOE’s national labs, business incubators, and other entrepreneurial resources in the American-Made Network to advance their technologies.
The new tool uses artificial intelligence to expand and develop the American-Made Network’s capabilities, helping fast-track development cycles. This tool will lower barriers to market entry for entrepreneurs by matching innovators to the exact resources they need, right when they need them.
American-Made Solar Prize Round 5
For the first time, the American-Made Solar Prize will have two tracks—one for hardware innovations and one for software innovations—a recognition that both are needed to advance the solar industry. The software track will have a particular focus on enabling underserved communities to overcome systemic barriers to solar energy. To further incentivize this focus, competitors can win $300,000 in additional funds through a Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Contest. The two tracks of the competition will focus on hardware and software components separately, with the goal of enabling more entrepreneurs to compete in the solar space.