Launched in January 2022, the AlgaePrize is a new competition from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and supported by the Algae Foundation and National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The competition encourages students to pursue innovative ideas for the development, design, and invention of technologies within the commercial algae value chain. Fast-growing and able to store energy from sunlight, algae can be transformed into a variety of products, such as fuel, food, fertilizer, industrial compounds, and animal feed. For more information: energy.gov/AlgaePrize.
Important Dates
The 2022-2023 AlgaePrize is a competition that starts in winter of 2022 and runs through spring of 2023.
January 2022: The AlgaePrize will be formally announced via the website, DOE BETO information office and social media. Teams can begin work as early as the release of the Rules. Information about team registration is available on the AlgaePrize website. After a team completes registration, the team is provided access to AlgaePrize communications and resources through the HeroX site, an online forum for participating students to receive timely information from organizers and access necessary resources.
March 2, 2022, 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST): Teams must register and submit a 500-word abstract by this deadline. Each team must identify a faculty lead and a student team lead.
April 6, 2022, 12:00 p.m. EST: Deadline for receipt of a ten-page Research Synopsis and team photo.
April 13, 2022: A maximum of fifteen student teams will be selected as AlgaePrize finalists. Each of the selected finalist teams will be awarded $5,000 for research project support funds.
April 18-29, 2022: Finalist teams virtually present their Research Synopsis to AlgaePrize organizers.
August 3, 2022, 12:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT): Deadline for receipt of first five-page Research Update. All student team members are required to have completed the Introduction to Algae Massive Open Online Course (MOOC).
September 2022: An updated version of the AlgaePrize is released with clarifications and any needed corrections.
November 2, 2022, 12:00 p.m. EDT: Deadline for receipt of second Research Update.
February 1, 2023, 12:00 p.m. EDT: Deadline for receipt of third Research Update.
March 22, 2023, 12:00 p.m. EST: Deadline for receipt of twenty-five page Research Project Final Report, 5-minute video, poster, and team and research project photos.
April 12, 2023, 12:00 p.m. EST: Deadline for receipt of presentation slide deck from teams. Presentation files will not be accepted after this date.
April 14-16, 2023: Finalist teams present projects to judges at the AlgaePrize Competition Weekend Event on the NREL main campus (pandemic permitting) in Golden, Colorado. Teams also participate in related competition weekend events. AlgaePrize winners are announced.
Fall 2023: AlgaePrize winning teams are invited to attend the Algae Biomass Summit for presentations and industry interactions.
Failure to submit required material by the due dates may result in the team disqualification from the competition.