The new Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking (EJ TCGM) Program is a competition to select multiple Grantmakers around the nation to reduce barriers to the federal grants application process communities face and increase the efficiency of the awards process for environmental justice grants. Grantmakers will design competitive application and submission processes, award environmental justice subgrants, implement a tracking and reporting system, provide resources and support to communities, all in collaboration with EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.

The mHUB EnergyTech Startup Pitch Competition will showcase cutting-edge hardtech startups specializing in climate and energy technologies. This pitch competition, taking place virtually on June 27, 2023, is designed to support under-represented women founders and entrepreneurs of color. Startups focused on innovative climate tech and energy technologies can apply to pitch virtually to a group of esteemed judges for cash awards totaling $8,500 and connections to industry decision-makers and investors interested in hardtech.

• 1st Place Prize: $5,000
• 2nd Place Prize: $2,500
• 3rd Place Prize: $1,000

By participating in the competition, schools and students connect with wind energy experts and industry contacts, enhancing schools’ curriculum offerings and strengthening students’ professional networks. This competition invites interdisciplinary teams of undergraduate and graduate students to:

• Design, build, and present a unique, wind-driven power system based on market research and test the wind turbine in an on-site wind tunnel.
• Research wind resource data, transmission infrastructure, and environmental factors to create a site plan and financial analysis for a hypothetical wind farm.
• Partner with wind industry professionals, raise awareness of wind energy in their communities, and work with local media to promote their team’s accomplishments.

The Manufacture of Advanced Key Energy Infrastructure Technologies (MAKE IT) Prize aims to catalyze domestic manufacturing of critical clean energy technology components, moving manufacturing facilities from planning to shovel-ready and enabling strategies for vibrant manufacturing activities in communities. This prize, developed by the Office of Technology Transitions in partnership with the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, has a prize pool of approximately $30 million spread across two tracks—the Facilities Track and the Strategies Track.

The Facilities Track accelerates clean energy technology manufacturing plant development and helps support establishing a robust, secure domestic supply chain for components deemed critical for the commercialization of clean energy technologies. This track invites U.S.-based entities to complete and submit the work necessary for a shovel-ready manufacturing facility for specific clean energy technology components.

The Manufacture of Advanced Key Energy Infrastructure Technologies (MAKE IT) Prize aims to catalyze domestic manufacturing of critical clean energy technology components, moving manufacturing facilities from planning to shovel-ready and enabling strategies for vibrant manufacturing activities in communities. This prize, developed by the Office of Technology Transitions in partnership with the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, has a prize pool of approximately $30 million spread across two tracks—the Facilities Track and the Strategies Track.

The Strategies Track aims to help build interest and engagement around manufacturing clean energy technologies and expand the potential for more clean energy jobs and economic opportunity. In this track, competitors will  develop a roadmap to promote clean energy manufacturing activity in their region and provide a statement of interest from an entity interested in establishing a facility in their region.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is launching the HBCU Clean Energy Education Prize to help develop advanced clean energy programming opportunities and connections for HBCUs across the United States. The prize focuses on three primary goals:

1. Inspire K-12 and community college students to engage with and learn about clean energy subjects through HBCU-hosted educational programs.
2. Initiate partnerships between HBCUs and other universities with proven clean energy focused programs to build new cross-university degree and certificate programs.
3. Integrate and build programming between university and industry partners to advance career opportunities for HBCU students in the clean energy space.

The J.M.K. Innovation Prize seeks to identify, support, and elevate innovators who are spearheading transformative early-stage projects in the fields of the environment, heritage conservation, and social justice. In 2023, we will award up to ten Prizes, each including a cash award of $150,000 over three years, plus $25,000 in technical assistance funds, for a total award of $175,000. Awardees also receive guidance through the Fund and its resource network, providing tools and training to support them through the challenges of a startup organization.

The American-Made Sunny Awards for Equitable Community Solar (The Sunny Awards) is a $200,000 prize competition that will recognize community solar portfolios and programs that employ or develop best practices to increase equitable access to the meaningful benefits of community solar for subscribers and their communities. Community solar is any solar project or purchasing program in which the benefits of a solar project flow to multiple customers such as individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and other groups, within a certain geographic area.

The Urban Future Lab is pleased to announce the Urban Future Prize Competition, which seeks to find the brightest climatetech startups and, through the generous support of The New York Community Trust, MUFG Union Bank, and NYSERDA, award two winners with $50,000 cash prizes. These awardees will also receive admission into the ACRE Incubator, New York’s longest-running and most successful climatetech program.

The Fermi Award is bestowed by the President of the United States to an individual or individuals of international stature in recognition of exceptional scientific, technical, policy, and/or management achievements related to the broad missions of the U.S. Department of Energy and its programs. Established in 1956 by President Eisenhower and the Atomic Energy Commission, the Fermi Award is given to inspire people of all ages, through the examples of Enrico Fermi, the 1938 Nobel Laureate in physics, and the Fermi Award laureates who followed in his footsteps, to explore and open new scientific and technological realms. The Fermi Award is administered on behalf of the White House by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. A Fermi Award laureate receives:

A citation signed by the President of the United States and the Secretary of Energy;
A gold-plated medal bearing the likeness of Enrico Fermi; and
A $100,000 honorarium (if there is more than one laureate named, the honorarium is shared equally).

The MECC invites selected teams to identify a promising market within the blue economy and to determine the best marine energy application within that market to address. Over the course of school year, teams develop materials for two required contests and one optional challenge, outlined below. Teams present their work at the MECC final event, typically held in conjunction with a Spring industry event. MECC teams compete in four required contests:

• Business Plan Challenge: Teams will identify a promising market within the blue economy (either a market identified in the WPTO Powering the Blue Economy report or another potential market within the blue economy) and determine, within that market, the best marine energy application to address. Submissions in this challenge will count for approximately 28% of the total final score.
• Technical Design Challenge: Teams will evaluate the performance requirements in their chosen blue economy market by identifying and interviewing at least three potential end users. Teams will complete a detailed design of a marine-energy-powered device to serve those end users. Submissions in this challenge will count for approximately 30% of the total final score.
• In the Build and Test Challenge: Competitors will build a scaled prototype of their concept and perform a series of lab tests. The submissions in this challenge will count for approximately 16% of the total final score.
• Community Connections Challenge: Competitors will foster connections with the broader marine energy industry and with their local community. The submissions in this challenge will count for approximately 26% of the total final score.