The American-Made Upskill Prize for the Solar Manufacturing Workforce (Upskill Prize) is a multi-million-dollar competition designed to accelerate the expansion of the U.S. solar manufacturing workforce and equip workers with the skills necessary to revitalize the domestic solar module manufacturing supply chain. This prize addresses critical workforce needs at various stages of the U.S. solar photovoltaics (PV) module supply chain.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) aims to support the growth of a reliable domestic PV supply chain, which will require scaling the solar workforce to meet new demand. The Upskill Prize encourages the expansion of the U.S. solar manufacturing workforce by rewarding proposals that focus on high-quality employment prospects and skillsets that can be utilized for career growth.
Overview
The prize incentivizes partnerships between U.S. manufacturers and training organizations, aiming to attract new workers to careers in solar manufacturing with job-ready training programs. Eligible manufacturers include those in polysilicon, ingot, wafer, cell, module, and module components like glass. Competing teams propose comprehensive workforce training plans that are composed of either or both:
- New Worker Training: Develop and propose plans to train new workers with the skills they need to be successful in the solar manufacturing industry, particularly at new or expanding manufacturing facilities.
- Incumbent Worker Training: Develop and propose plans to train incumbent workers with new skills needed to support the growth of solar manufacturing.
The Upskill Prize offers a total prize pool of $7.75 million. Winning teams receive up to $500,000 each for their submitted comprehensive workforce training plans.
Timeline
SETO will accept applications and select winners on a rolling basis.
- DOE announced the prize on March 8, 2024 and announced Round One winners on July 16, 2024.
- Register to compete in Round Two by November 20, 2024. DOE expects to announce Round Two winners in winter 2025.
- On August 19, 2024, DOE updated the total prize pool to $7.75 million.
Round One Winners
- University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL) and First Solar (Lafayette, LA) - This project is establishing a semiconductor technical training center focused on thin-film solar processes to support the workforce at First Solar’s new Louisiana facility. The training center will be located at ULL Research Park and provide training for operators, technicians, engineers, data scientists, and managers.
- Crossroads Solar Enterprises and the Purdue University Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Carmel, IN) - This project is offering solar manufacturing training to returning citizens (formerly incarcerated individuals). The training will support both new and incumbent workers at Crossroads Solar on equipment maintenance and quality management. Employees will also receive a certificate from Purdue after completing training.
Additional Resources
- Sign up to compete or follow along with the competition on HeroX.
- Download the rules.
- Join the American-Made Network to support competitors.
- For questions about the Upskill Prize, email [email protected].
- Read the report from SETO’s request for information about workforce barriers in solar manufacturing.
- Learn about other American-Made Challenges in SETO.
- Learn about SETO's open funding opportunities.
The American-Made Upskill Prize for the Solar Manufacturing Workforce is a part of the American-Made Challenges and is administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.