Stage 2 of the $4.5 Million Competition Will Evaluate Conductivity-Enhanced Materials that Support Increased Electrification for Decarbonization

Today, as part of Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Earth Day celebration, the Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) is opening Stage 2 of the Conductivity-enhanced materials for Affordable, Breakthrough Leapfrog Electric and thermal applications (CABLE) Conductor Manufacturing Prize. This three-stage competition will award up to $4.5 million to accelerate the development of affordable, manufacturable materials that conduct electricity more efficiently to upgrade our manufacturing and transportation infrastructures.

In Stage 1, teams submitted breakthrough concepts for more conductive materials that could be used for both electrical and thermal energy applications. Stage 2 will award up to $1.8 million to support electrical conductivity testing – requiring teams to produce a sample of their material for evaluation by CABLE Prize-approved testing labs. Stage 2, competitors will also prepare preliminary commercialization plans to scale-up and manufacture their materials.

Stage 2 is not limited to Stage 1 winners. New competitors, along with all teams that participated in Stage 1, can compete in Stage 2 of the prize. During the second stage, teams will compete for up to 6 $200,000 cash awards, and $100,000 noncash vouchers for technical assistance from one of DOE’s national laboratories or other American-Made Challenge Network providers.

Only competitors who win Stage 2 will move on to the third and final stage of the competition, wherein they will manufacture a larger sample of their conductivity-enhanced materials for conductivity and additional testing and develop more detailed plans to commercialize their designs. Up to four winning teams will split a total prize pool of at least $2 million in Stage 3.

Interested in learning more and joining the competition? An informational webinar was held on May 17 at 3 p.m. ET. Submissions were due by December 1, 2022. Follow the prize to receive updates about the Stage 2 launch.

The CABLE Prize is funded by the Advanced Manufacturing Office and administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.