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Post-Secondary Students May Win Cash Prizes for Business Plans Leveraging Energy Technologies with Potential for Commercialization.
Florida post-secondary students who develop strong energy technology business proposals could win a share of $370,000 in federal funding through the 2023 EnergyTech University Prize (EnergyTech UP) sponsored by the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) at the U.S. Department of Energy.
EnergyTech UP challenges student teams to build a business plan around energy technologies developed at National Laboratories or other high-potential energy technologies, including technologies developed at the university or independently. Students will present their business proposals to a panel of expert judges for the chance to win cash prizes and advance to the national competition at Zpryme’s Energy Thought Summit in Austin, Texas. All participants also receive access to the OTT’s Energy I-Corps curriculum.
Applications are now open for the competition at https://www.herox.com/EnergyTechUP. For the second straight year, the OTT selected the Florida High Tech Corridor (The Corridor) — a regional economic development initiative of the University of Central Florida, the University of South Florida, and the University of Florida — to host the preliminary event for Florida students in February 2023.
“We’re glad to be back as an EnergyTech UP convener, collaborating with the next generation of leaders in the energy and high-tech industries in our state,” said The Corridor’s CEO Paul Sohl. “Giving students applied learning opportunities has always been central to our mission and we look forward to engaging our regional and statewide ecosystem partners in this effort.”
Last year, the University of Miami’s Kara Samuel and Alexander Ezzy won the preliminary competition hosted by The Corridor and advanced to win third place at the national level. They earned a total of $7,500 in cash prizes for a plan to commercialize structural piezoelectric supercapacitors, an alternative to hydrogen-powered fuel cells or lithium-ion batteries, which may increase the efficiency of vehicles and aircraft.
“EnergyTech UP provided us with genuine and valuable feedback from industry experts that helped improve our future business model and gain a new perspective on our project,” said Samuel. “The prize has helped us take steps toward acquiring patents to protect our technology and take the next steps in our business plan.”
The OTT is hosting a virtual webinar Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 3 p.m. EST for students and mentors, including college and university faculty and staff, who are interested in learning more about the 2023 competition. Webinar registration is now open: https://bit.ly/3TlEe8P.
Official rules and OTT National Laboratory partnering information are also available at https://www.herox.com/EnergyTechUP.
For more information about the preliminary competition for Florida state college and university students, contact Amanda Allen at amanda.allen@floridhightech.com.
About the Florida High Tech Corridor
The Florida High Tech Corridor (The Corridor) is a regional economic development initiative of three top-tier research universities: the University of Central Florida, the University of South Florida and the University of Florida. Since 1996, The Corridor has cultivated Florida’s research and innovation economy through matching grants to support university-industry partnerships, federal grant support, industry clustering, STEM outreach and more. Powered by an ethos of collaboration, The Corridor aligns opportunities and resources in academia, industry and economic development to unleash the region’s exponential potential. Learn more about The Corridor at FloridaHighTech.com. Connect with The Corridor on LinkedIn and subscribe to the Tech’s Potential podcast on Spotify or Apple.
Challenge Overview
Sponsored by the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the American-Made EnergyTech University Prize (EnergyTech UP) is a collegiate competition challenging multidisciplinary student teams to develop and present a business plan that leverages National Laboratory-developed or other high-potential energy technologies, including university-developed technologies or other technologies of interest to student competitors. EnergyTech UP awards cash prizes to teams that successfully identify an energy technology, assess its market potential, and propose a strategy for commercialization.
The EnergyTech University Prize (EnergyTech UP), in partnership with American-Made Challenges, is designed to be approachable, equitable, and scalable nationwide. EnergyTech UP, in partnership with American-Made Challenges, is designed to be approachable, equitable, and scalable nationwide. Winners will be chosen based on the strength of their business proposal.
Here’s how you can get started:
- Register to attend the informational webinar on Oct. 26 at 3 p.m. ET
- Review the official rules document
- Then explore possible technology opportunities on OTT’s Lab Partnering Service website
- View the results of the 2022 competition.
Prize Structure
Student teams compete for a total of $370,000 in cash prizes as they explore business opportunities for lab-developed or other high-potential energy technologies, assess commercialization opportunities through market analysis, and present a viable business plan to industry judges. Throughout the competition, they receive mentorship and materials to help them succeed.
Teams first compete at the regional level for a share of $45,000. Then, the top teams move on and compete for a share of $100,000 in prizes funded by OTT. In addition, eight DOE technology offices are offering up to $25,000 each in bonus prizes for the best teams in their respective fields. The offices include:
- Building Technologies Office
- Geothermal Technologies Office
- Office of Electricity (offering two technology bonus prizes)
- Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management
- Office of Nuclear Energy
- Office of Technology Transitions
- Solar Energy Technologies Office
- Water Power Technologies Office.
Understanding that energy is often inherently local, teams first present at their closest regional events in February, where regional winners are identified. Teams that are invited to participate in the regional events receive free access to OTT’s Energy I-Corps curriculum. First-place regional winners are provided exclusive mentorship to help students refine their ideas throughout February and March. Finally, the regional winners pitch their complete business plan at Zpryme’s Energy Thought Summit
