Past Funding Opportunity: Marine Energy Collegiate Competition Prize (Fiscal Years 2020–2021)

Announcement

Selection Date

  • Fiscal Year 2020: 07/23/2020
  • Fiscal Year 2021: To be determined

Prize Objective

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) hosts a challenge for university students to advance one of the most up-and-coming industries: marine energy. This competition is designed to challenge interdisciplinary teams of both undergraduate and graduate students to offer unique solutions to the burgeoning marine energy industry that can play a vital role in powering the blue economy.

Description

For the competition, teams of students will:

  • Develop a market-research-supported business plan, which will include key aspects of their design of a system that could be commercialized to address power needs for a chosen sector of the blue economy
  • Pitch their plan to a panel of judges and hypothetical investors
  • Have the option to build and test a device to achieve energy production
  • Engage with their community through outreach and educational activities.

EERE Selections

Funding Awardees

  • 2020
    • Overall Winner: University of Hawaii
    • Second Place Winner: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
    • Third Place Winner: Tie: Columbia University with Virginia Tech and Ana G. Mendez, Gurabo
    • Individual category winners included the following:
      • Rising Star Award: North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
      • Moonshot Award: College of the Florida Keys
      • Best Plan: Columbia University with Virginia Tech
      • Best Pitch: University of Hawaii
      • Best Poster: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
  • 2021
    • To be determined.