DOE Awards $2 Million to Prize Winners with Plans for Domestic Clean Energy Manufacturing Facilities

Washington, D.C. –  Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced four winners in Phase 1 of the Facilities Track of the Manufacture of Advanced Key Energy Infrastructure Technologies (MAKE IT) Prize. These winners were awarded $500,000 each for developing exceptional plans to build manufacturing facilities for specific critical clean energy components. The four teams will advance to Phase 2: Shovel-Ready of the MAKE IT Prize Facilities Track, during which they will prove that they are ready to break ground on their manufacturing facilities. 

The MAKE IT Prize Facilities Track is a collaborative effort from the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) and Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) that aims to catalyze the domestic manufacturing of clean energy technology components. This two-phase track asks competitors to develop credible plans for establishing manufacturing facilities, with the goal of being shovel-ready by the end of the prize. 

“DOE is helping accelerate the development of clean energy manufacturing facilities across the nation,” said DOE Chief Commercialization Officer and Director of the Office of Technology Transitions, Dr. Vanessa Chan. “With the billions invested into clean energy deployment through the Investing in America Agenda, programs like MAKE IT ensure the components that power the energy transition will be made in America.”  

Facilities Track Secondary Timeline Phase 1 Winners  

The Phase 1: Scope winners provided detailed plans to build domestic manufacturing facilities for specific critical clean energy components, including those used in hydrogen infrastructure and long-duration energy storage. 

Congratulations to the second group of Facilities Track Phase 1 winners: 

• Big-Ton H2 Storage – WE NEW ENERGY Inc will partner with ATC Inc and Energy Internet Corporation to revitalize a pressure vessel plant with patented technology to assemble 100 MWh hydrogen storage vessels in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 
• Electrocatalyst for Clean Hydrogen and LDES – Nexceris will scale manufacturing of an enabling low-cost electrocatalyst powder for electrolysis and long-duration energy storage in Lewis Center, Ohio. 
• Manufacturing a Pipe for Safer Hydrogen Pipelines – NOV Fiber Glass Systems, in partnership with H2C Safety Pipe, Inc, will retool and re-equip an existing facility in Houston, Texas to manufacture a double-wall fiberglass reinforced polymer pipe for safer, lower-cost, and more efficient hydrogen pipelines. 
• New York Battery and Stored Energy Demonstration – Urban Electric Power and partners including Ulster BOCES, Ulster Strong and the P3 Group USA, Inc will build a 250 MWh manufacturing line in Kingston, NY to produce rechargeable zinc aqueous batteries for long duration energy storage systems. 

This is the second group of Facilities Track Phase 1 winners to advance to Phase 2: Shovel Ready. In Phase 2: Shovel-Ready, competitors will need to demonstrate they are prepared to build a manufacturing facility, including a secured location, proof of access, permits, financing, and community buy-in. Nine Phase 1 winners were announced in March, and now all 13 teams will compete for up to four Phase 2 prizes of $4.5 million each. 

Learn More About the MAKE IT Prize  

MAKE IT Facilities Track Phase 2 competitors can submit their materials for review beginning in August. Meanwhile, Strategies Track teams are working to develop roadmaps for clean energy manufacturing in their communities. By the end of the prize, DOE will award a total of approximately $30 million in federal funding to winning teams from both tracks.   

To learn more about the MAKE IT Prize and be notified about future winner announcements, follow the Facilities Track and Strategies Track on HeroX, the official prize platform.   

The MAKE IT Prize was developed by the DOE’s OTT, OCED, and Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and is funded by the Technology Commercialization Fund through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The prize is administered through the American-Made program, a fast track to clean energy innovation that accelerates the transition from ideas into real-world clean energy solutions.   

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 us at energy.gov/ott to learn more and subscribe to receive our latest opportunities and accomplishments via email. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. 

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