In June 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) launched the third round of the EnergyTech University Prize (EnergyTech UP). The prize challenged student teams to develop and present a business plan that leveraged DOE National Laboratory-developed and other high-potential energy technologies while competing for $450,000 in cash prizes.
Additionally, the 2024 edition of the prize introduced a new Faculty Track, challenging faculty to develop and implement educational activities to engage more students in energy technology commercialization and entrepreneurship topics at their institution, while competing for part of $100,000 in cash prizes.
Student Track
In February 2024, prize administrators announced that 225 teams from 117 schools would compete, representing 39 states, plus the District of Columbia.
During the first phase of the competition, students explored business and energy technology opportunities and presented their findings at one of 15 Explore Events, hosted by regional convening organizations, in late February 2024. After the events, 15 Regional Finalists and 13 Bonus Prize Finalists were announced, each earning $3,000 and an invitation to the National Pitch Event.
TITLE FINALISTS TEAMS EAST REGION FINALISTS - Charge Bay, University of South Florida
- Flow Battery Diagnostics for Energy Reliability, University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University
- Non-Toxic Bio-Solvents for Lithium-Ion Batteries, Northeastern University and The University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Oxylus Energy: Novel CO2 Electrolysis to Methanol, Yale University
- State-of-the-Art Power Generation Dispatch, Duke University
CENTRAL REGION FINALISTS - Biomass to Jet Fuel, University of Arkansas
- Carbon Negative Chemicals from Plastic Waste, The University of Chicago
- “LiSED”—Lithium Selective ElectroDialysis Systems, Rice University
- GarboCarbo: Decarbonizing the Paper Industry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Harvard University, and the University of California, Berkeley
- On Demand Electricity, Emory University
- Removing the Barrier to Entry to Net-Zero Biofuels, Purdue University
WEST REGION FINALISTS - Applying PCM to Cut Down on Energy of Reefers, University of Colorado Boulder
- Blaze Power, University of California, Los Angeles
- EarthFlow AI, Stanford Univeristy
- Touchless Electrostatic System for PV Cleaning, Hawai’I Pacific University
The National Pitch Event was held on April 15, 2024, at Zpryme’s Energy Thought Summit in Austin, Texas. The 28 finalist teams presented live pitches to a panel of industry judges in the hopes of becoming a National or Bonus Prize Winner.
The following teams were selected as EnergyTech University Prize 2024 National and Bonus Prize Winners.
TEAM SCHOOL STATUS Team Rise Reforming
(formerly Carbon Negative Chemicals from Plastic Waste)
The University of Chicago First-Place National Winner Team ProPika
(formerly Biomass to Jet Fuel)University of Arkansas Second-Place National Winner Team Ion Clean PV
(formerly Touchless Electrostatic System for PV Cleaning)
Hawai’i Pacific University Third-Place National Winner Team GarboCarbo University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Harvard University
University of California, Berkeley
Office of Technology Transitions Undergraduate-Only Bonus Prize Winner Team EcoGrains University of Notre Dame Office of Technology Transitions National Lab IP Licensing Bonus Prize Winner Team HeatVault
(formerly Heat Recovery as a Service)
Georgia Institute of Technology Building Technologies Office Bonus Prize Winner Team Geo@MIT
(formerly Advanced GDHC + Thermal Storage System at Colleges)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Geothermal Technologies Office Bonus Prize Winner Team ECHO Solutions University of Houston Hydrogen Fuel Technologies Office Bonus Prize Winner Team ClimateWatt
(formerly MASTERI Commercialization)
Rice University Office of Electricity Bonus Prize Winner Team Flow Cellutions
(formerly Flow Battery Diagnostics for Energy Reliability)
University of Pittsburgh
Carnegie Mellon University
Office of Electricity Bonus Prize Winner Team OptiGen
(formerly State-of-the-Art Power Generation Dispatch)
Duke University Office of Electricity Bonus Prize Winner Team EarthFlow AI Stanford University Fossil Energy and Carbon Management Bonus Prize Winner Team COMPScan Texas A&M University Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains Bonus Prize Winner Team Molten Salt Consulting
(formerly Computational Molten Salt Research Company)Snow College Office of Nuclear Energy Bonus Prize Winner Team Agrivoltaic Design Studio Cornell University Solar Energy Technologies Office Bonus Prize Winner Team KelpNext University of Michigan Water Power Technologies Office Bonus Prize Winner
Faculty Track
In February 2024, prize administrators announced 10 faculty members had been selected as Faculty Explorers, earning $4,000 each. All faculty who submitted to the Explore Phase were then eligible to continue developing their ideas, competing for the cash prizes available in the final Implement Phase.
FACULTY MEMBER SCHOOL Derek Abrams The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Akosua Acheamponmaa Norfolk State University Mohamed K.M. Ahmed Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Antwon Foreman North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Gary Koenig University of Virginia Gang Li Mississippi State University Heather Liddell Purdue University Kassandra McQuillen, J.D. Texas Tech University Brien Walton, J.D. Ed.D. Husson University Maryam Younessi Sinaki, PhD Cleveland State University On April 22, 2024, three faculty winners and five runners-up were announced. First-, second-, and third-place winners were awarded $25,000, $15,000, and $10,000, respectively. Additionally, five faculty runners-up were awarded $2,000 each.
The following individuals were selected as EnergyTech University Prize 2024 Faculty Track Winners.
FACULTY MEMBER SCHOOL STATUS Maryam Younessi Sinaki, PhD, Cleveland State University First-Place Faculty Winner Brien Walton, J.D. Ed.D. Husson University Second-Place Faculty Winner Kassandra McQuillen, J.D. Texas Tech University Third-Place Faculty Winner Derek Abrams The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Faculty Runner-Up Mohammad Biswas University of Texas at Tyler Faculty Runner-Up Gary Koenig University of Virginia Faculty Runner-Up Dawen Li The University of Alabama Faculty Runner-Up Irene Reizman Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Faculty Runner-Up
Learn More
On April 15, 2024, the Office of Technology Transitions announced that the program would return for another edition, with registration expected to open in Fall 2024 and competition activities to occur in early 2025.
Follow EnergyTech UP on HeroX, the official competition platform, for updates on the latest round of competition.