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.

NSF seeks proposals to create an NSF National Resource Coordination Center on Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) (IUSE Center) that will be an intellectual partner to the IUSE: EDU community and NSF. Working in concert with the IUSE: EDU program, the goal of the IUSE Center is to serve as a focal point and intellectual partner for the IUSE: EDU community. The objectives of the IUSE Center are to:

• Enhance the reach and influence of IUSE investments by facilitating communication, engagement, and networking among IUSE: EDU award recipients, prospective recipients, and other stakeholders; and
• Provide support and resources for development and maintenance of IUSE: EDU projects, especially for prospective recipients and those underrepresented in the IUSE: EDU award recipient community.

The IUSE Center will be expected to work collaboratively with NSF and the IUSE: EDU community to design, implement, and execute its activities and ensure the inclusion of diverse educators and education researchers representing the full range of the nation’s talent pool, of eligible institutions and organizations, and of STEM education efforts funded through the IUSE: EDU Program.

Are you an innovator? Do you have an emerging business or solution related to energy, climate, sustainability, or cleantech? Are you ready to take your innovation or business to the next level? The PowerNorth Virtual Incubator is a 10-week program tailored for early-stage energy and cleantech entrepreneurs in Minnesota.

Innovation Crossroads, a Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program, is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office, Building Technologies Office, Office of Electricity, Office of Science Advanced Scientific Computing Research program, and the Tennessee Valley Authority that leverages Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s unique scientific resources and capabilities and connects the nation’s top innovators with experts, mentors, and networks in technology-related fields to take world-changing ideas from research and development to the marketplace.

Innovation Crossroads is a two-year program for fellows focusing on energy and advanced manufacturing technologies. Through an annual national call and competitive stage-gate process, top entrepreneurial-minded fellows are selected to join the program. Selected innovators receive a fellowship that includes a personal living stipend, along with health insurance and travel allowance, a substantial grant to use on collaborative R&D at ORNL, and comprehensive mentoring assistance to build a sustainable business model.

Chain Reaction Innovations (CRI) is a two-year fellowship program at Argonne National Laboratory for innovators focused on clean energy and science technologies. Through an annual call, four to six individuals are selected to join CRI. It is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program (LEEP), one of four ‘nodes’. The others are located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

GHHI’s Thriving Communities Grantmaking program, in collaboration with the EPA, will award $40 million in grants, flowing from the Inflation Reduction Act, to fund 171 eligible projects in historically disinvested communities throughout EPA’s Region 3 (includes Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and 7 federally recognized tribes).

Lead the future of innovation at your higher education institution with the VentureWell Ecosystem Futures Fellowship. This new fellowship is an evolution of our Course & Program Grants that focuses on scalable science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E) ecosystem solutions through the lens of environmental and social sustainability and inclusive innovation. This program offers professional development, immersive learning experiences, and a supportive community of leaders. It enhances the role of faculty and higher education leaders as ecosystem builders in partnership with industry and government.

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:

• Greenhouses heated or cooled by geothermal (ground-source) energy
• Greenhouses powered by wind or solar
• Solar arrays that provide shade for crops to grow or livestock to graze.

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.

ACORE Accelerate members work on solutions in wind, solar, battery storage, hydrokinetic energy, and more. They are women and BIPOC-led businesses committed to creating good-quality jobs and sustaining impact in their communities. Members include manufacturers, project developers, professional service providers and consultants. ACORE hosts an annual call for applications and selects up to 10 Accelerate members per cohort. Over the two-year program, Accelerate members receive complimentary access to paid events, exclusive briefings, tools and advocacy. Members build relationships across ACORE’s influential network of financial institutions, major corporate clean energy buyers, utilities, academic institutions, and allied nonprofit groups and are eligible to serve a year-long term on ACORE’s Board of Directors. At the end of the program, members receive access to continued benefits as members of the Accelerate alumni network.

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.