Save the Date! Registration for Next U.S. Department of Energy AlgaePrize Opens April 2025!

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), in partnership with the Algae Foundation and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, will launch the AlgaePrize 2025–2027 Competition this spring with registration opening on April 1, 2025.

In its third iteration, the AlgaePrize challenges students to become the next generation of bioeconomy professionals by expanding novel solutions supporting gigaton-scale algae commercialization. AlgaePrize teams can include high schoolers, community college, undergraduate, or graduate students working to advance algal commercial enhancement, ecological services, education, training, and workforce development. 

The competition spans 24 months and during those two years, student competitors will: 

• Gain experience with innovative algal commercialization technologies 
• Develop real-world solutions for the production of affordable biofuels, foods, animal feed, ecological services, and industrial compounds (e.g., biopolymers)
• Help build the algal bioeconomy of the future and create jobs in clean energy through their innovative research
• Develop collaborative and leadership skills by working on multidisciplinary student teams
• Engage and network with industry professionals, national lab researchers, and academics to forge relationships and connections that aid students’ transition to the algal-based bioeconomy 
• Compete to earn prize money, a trophy, and national recognition.  

Competition Categories 

Student teams should focus their projects on one of the following three competition categories applicable to both microalgae and macroalgae: 

1. Production  
   • Cultivar Enhancement
   • Aquaculture Engineering
   • Husbandry and Productivity
2. Downstream Processing 
   • Harvesting, Dewatering, and Preprocessing  
   • Development of Biorefinery Applications  
3. Novel Products, Analytical Tools, or Ecosystem Services 
   • New Product Development
   • Remote Sensing and Modeling   
   • Ecosystem Services  

Important Dates for AlgaePrize 2025 - 2027  

• April 1, 2025: Student team registration opens; students can sign up and assemble teams  
• Sept. 12, 2025: Registration closes 12 p.m. ET. Student team registrations due with abstract and team photo  
• Nov. 3, 2025: Research synopses due  
• Jan. 16, 2026: Finalist teams selected  
• March 3, 2027: Finalist teams research project reports due  
• April 9–11, 2027: AlgaePrize student competition weekend, team presentations, and champions announced.  

The AlgaePrize competition is part of DOE’s American-Made Challenges, a series of unique prize competitions designed to incentivize and reenergize American innovation in the energy marketplace.

Students are in the midst of the second competition that will wrap up this spring with the AlgaePrize 2023–2025 grand champion being announced on April 13, 2025. Learn more about the AlgaePrize 2023–2025 finalists and their projects and follow the progress of both competitions by following #AlgaePrize on social media!

For additional information, please visit the AlgaePrize website. Questions can be emailed to [email protected].