The DOE OTT and Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization awarded four startups and one incubator over $160,000 in cash prizes for their groundbreaking energy technologies through the Summer 2024 EPIC Pitch Competition.
Office of Technology Transitions
June 5, 2024
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Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) and Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) awarded four startups and one incubator over $160,000 in cash prizes for their groundbreaking energy technologies as part of the 2024 Summer Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Startup Pitch Competition. The EPIC program provides opportunities for the nation’s most innovative clean technology business incubators to win DOE funds to continue their support of energy entrepreneurs.
“The EPIC Pitch Competition is a unique opportunity for start ups to highlight their technology, get on the main stage, and receive direct funding.,” said DOE Chief Commercialization Officer and Director of OTT, Dr. Vanessa Chan. “The startup pitch winners have honed their entrepreneurial skills and demonstrated a critical understanding of their technological impacts, targeted markets, and scalable strategies.”
Startups competing in the EPIC Pitch Competition were nominated by incubators who have successfully participated in the EPIC program. Out of the many impressive startups nominated, six clean tech startups were selected to pitch their cutting-edge technologies to a panel of judges at DOE’s Small Business Forum and Expo in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 4, 2024.
During the pitches, the startups impressed more than 1,000 attendees with presentations detailing their technology, market opportunity and strategy, business model, and team. Reviewers scored each team based on their presentation skills, technology, content, and investment potential before selecting the winning teams from across the country. Winners were announced to a live audience at the conference the following day.
Meet the Winners
Congratulations to the winners!
First Place: Hertha Metals (Conroe, TX) - Hertha Metals is at the forefront of environmentally responsible steel. Their technology reduces steelmaking process emissions by 95% with advanced solutions using existing infrastructure for a scalable economy. Hertha Metals technology offers affordable green steel for a low-carbon future via a process accessible to all without a premium price tag. Hertha Metals won $100,000.
Nominating Incubator: Greentown Labs Houston won $25,000 for nominating the first- place startup, Hertha Metals.
Second Place: Sensatek Propulsion Technology, Inc. (Daytona Beach, FL) - Sensatek Propolusion is commercializing a technology that makes wind energy systems more cost-competitive and resilient using video images with pixel vibration sensors. The technology incorporates video cameras, software, and algorithms to eliminate drone inspections, mitigate blade failures, and increase turbine uptime. Sensatek Propulsion Technology, Inc. won $40,000.
Nominating Incubator: mHUB Innovation Center
Third Place: Torev Motors (Arlington, VA) - Torev Motors is a next-generation electric motor capable of increasing electric vehicle (EV) range while cutting rare earth content in half. Designed for the electric vehicle (EV) transportation space, Torev’s next generation motor uses a revolutionary, patented double axial flux motor, which reduces the use of rare earth metals and improves vehicle efficiency and performance. Torev Motors won $20,000.
Nominating Incubator: Dominion Energy Innovation Center
JEDI Prize
In addition to first-, second-, and third-place awards, a $5,000 Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Prize was awarded by OSDBU to NitroCat Energies, located in Fort Collins, CO, for successfully demonstrating how their product and efforts can help expand clean energy technology adoption in disadvantaged communities. NitroCat Energies is a clean chemical manufacturer focusing on decarbonizing the fertilizer industry. Their proprietary technology converts nitrogen feedstock into ammonia and urea fertilizer while capturing carbon and creating valuable chemicals. This process avoids energy-intensive industrial production methods while increasing efficiency, scalability, and environmental sustainability. NitroCat Energies won $5,000. NitroCat was nominated by Colorado State University.
Other Featured Startups
The two remaining finalists were selected by their incubators for their exceptional business plans to pitch their innovative technologies at the EPIC Pitch Competition. Congratulations to these startups for participating in the pitch competition. These startups are driving our nation’s sustainability efforts forward:
CREW Carbon (New Haven, CT) - CREW Carbon has developed a nature-powered carbon dioxide removal technology that uses rocks and minerals to capture and sequester CO2 permanently from municipal and industrial wastewater, while treating wastewater effectively. Their organization works at the nexus of climate change and wastewater to solve problems in both industries.
Nominating Incubator: AirMiners
Hydronic Shell Technologies (Long Island City, NY) - Hydronic Shell Technologies is transforming buildings for a net-zero future, integrating a high performance “reimagined” HVAC system into modular overclad facade panels for net-zero retrofits at industrial scale. Their approach leverages technology, prefabrication, and modular assembly to deliver better new and retrofit buildings at lower cost.
Nominating Incubator: Syracuse University
Hosted by OTT, in conjunction with OSDBU and the American-Made Program, the pitch competition included impactful remarks delivered by OSBDU Director Ron Pierce and OTT Associate Director for Commercialization Programs, Mary McManmon. The event also concluded with the announcement of the fall EPIC Startup Pitch Competition, taking place at the national RE+ convention this September in Anaheim, California.
Up Next for EPIC
Formerly awarded EPIC incubators are invited to nominate startups to compete in the September EPIC Startup Pitch Competition at RE+ in California. In the meantime, EPIC Round 3 is in Phase 2 of the prize with current competitors working to implement the plans for entrepreneurial support they developed in Phase 1. Teams are also creating a continuation plan in the hopes of being selected to negotiate a cooperative agreement with OTT worth up to $1 million. Phase 2 will close at the end of September, and up to six winners will be invited to negotiate the three-year cooperative agreement.
Learn More
The American-Made program fast-tracks innovation through prizes, training, teaming, and mentoring, connecting the nation's entrepreneurs and innovators to America's national labs and the private sector. Teams competing in EPIC Round 3 will have access to the American-Made Network, which provides mentoring, tools, resources, and support to accelerate the transition of ideas into real-world solutions to achieve clean energy goals.
EPIC Round 3 is part of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Technology Transitions Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) program that provides funds and support to place-based incubators to encourage the robust growth of regional energy innovation ecosystems across the United States. NREL is the Prize Administrator for this prize. Email [email protected] with any questions.
About the Department of Energy Office of Technology Transitions
The Department of Energy Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) is one of the largest supporters of technology commercialization in the federal government. Founded in 2015, OTT bolsters the technology industry's market skills and enables clean energy technologies to progress through research, development, demonstration, and to deployment into the private sector to meet our nation’s climate goals. Visit energy.gov/ott to learn more and subscribe to receive opportunities and accomplishments via email. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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