EnergyTech UP
Office of Technology Transitions’ EnergyTech University Prize (EnergyTech UP) is a free-to-enter competition with $370,000 in prizes that tasks teams to present a business plan that leverages National Laboratory-developed, university-created, or other high-potential energy technologies. New this year, in addition to competing for a share of $370,000 in prize money and an opportunity to present at the national competition on April 3, 180 teams will receive free access to Department of Energy energy entrepreneurship training materials and an opportunity to present to judges and receive live feedback in late February.
If you’re intrigued, read about the program at https://energy.gov/energytechup or https://herox.com/energytechup. Applications are due by January 26th! There was a webinar about the program on December 6th, and you are encouraged to contact Joe Simon at ott.energytechup@nrel.gov for a recording of the presentation.
Students who participated in last year’s inaugural competition found the program very valuable:
“I learned that there are many ways to innovate other than introducing new technologies, and that business knowledge and communication skills are very important for engineers.”
“I learned the difference between giving a business-focused talk and a science-focused talk.”
“[I learned] How to formulate my business plan. I never envisioned that I would do something like that with the work I’ve been doing.”
“[I learned how] Working with people of different technical skill sets really gave a different feel to the project. I like that it gives less focus to the technical side, but emphasizes practicality in implementation. It really gives people who aren't specialized in engineering or scientific topics a chance to make an impact and learn more about sustainability.”
If you have any questions, please contact the program organizer at ott.energytechup@nrel.gov.