The University of Kentucky has been selected to serve as a regional convenor for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) national EnergyTech University Prize competition.
Sponsored by DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions (OTT), the EnergyTech University Prize (EnergyTech UP) is a collegiate competition challenging multidisciplinary student teams to develop and present a business plan that leverages laboratory-developed and other high-potential energy technologies. EnergyTech UP awards cash prizes to teams that successfully identify an energy technology, assess its market potential and propose a strategy for commercialization.
Student teams will compete for a total of $250,000 in cash prizes. Throughout the competition, they receive mentorship and materials to help them succeed.
The top teams will compete for a share of $100,000 in prizes funded by OTT. In addition, six DOE Technology Offices are offering up to $25,000 each in bonus prizes for the best teams in their respective fields. The six offices include: the Geothermal Technologies Office, Solar Energy Technologies Office, Office of Nuclear Energy, Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, Building Technologies Office, and the Water Power Technologies Office.
“This is an exciting time for energy technology. The EnergyTech University Prize will engage our collegiate population and accelerate these technologies to market where they can generate real impact,” said Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk, who also kicked off the prize launch with a video message to participants.
UK will be serving as a regional convener for the Appalachia region, which includes Kentucky and Tennessee. Participating teams can learn more about the competition and register here. All teams must register on HeroX, the official competition platform, by 5 p.m., Jan. 31, 2022.
Interested teams must submit a 200-word summary of the technology to be leveraged and the business opportunity, along with an initial slide deck, and indicate their region of choice. Teams will be invited to present at a regional convener event. Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to compete for the EnergyTechUP prize.
Regional winners will be provided exclusive mentorship and free access to OTT’s Energy I-Corps curriculum to help students refine their ideas throughout February and March. Regional winners will pitch their complete business plan at Carnegie Mellon University Energy Week in March 2022.
For more information about the EnergyTech UP regional convener hosted by UK, you can read more here.
The University of Kentucky is increasingly the first choice for students, faculty and staff to pursue their passions and their professional goals. In the last two years, Forbes has named UK among the best employers for diversity, and INSIGHT into Diversity recognized us as a Diversity Champion four years running. UK is ranked among the top 30 campuses in the nation for LGBTQ* inclusion and safety. UK has been judged a “Great College to Work for” three years in a row, and UK is among only 22 universities in the country on Forbes’ list of “America’s Best Employers.” We are ranked among the top 10 percent of public institutions for research expenditures — a tangible symbol of our breadth and depth as a university focused on discovery that changes lives and communities. And our patients know and appreciate the fact that UK HealthCare has been named the state’s top hospital for five straight years. Accolades and honors are great. But they are more important for what they represent: the idea that creating a community of belonging and commitment to excellence is how we honor our mission to be not simply the University of Kentucky, but the University for Kentucky.
