SOLVE IT Prize Now Accepting Submissions from Community Change Makers

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that the Solutions for Lasting, Viable Energy Infrastructure Technologies (SOLVE IT) Prize is now accepting submissions.   

The SOLVE IT Prize will support communities as they identify and work to implement innovative clean energy solutions in a way that works best to address their unique needs and challenges. By empowering communities to solve their energy-related challenges, the SOLVE IT Prize looks to promote the commercialization of promising energy technologies in a way that will lead to an equitable and just energy transition.  

The prize will award competitors with a demonstrated history of productive work with communities. Competitors will work collaboratively with stakeholders interested in community-scale (neighborhood-, town-, or city-scale) planning around clean energy to engage their localities, build a network of support for clean energy or decarbonization projects, and develop plans for carrying these projects out. 

The SOLVE IT Prize offers a total prize pool of $5 million in cash prizes. Teams may win up to $730,000 each across three phases of the SOLVE IT prize. Individuals or organizations with a history of successful participatory community-based initiatives – especially in disadvantaged and energy-burdened communities – are encouraged to join. 

In the Embark phase, competitors will first identify a community, a challenge facing that community that can be addressed by an innovative clean energy solution, and a clear plan for engaging with the community. Submissions to the Embark phase of the prize are due April 12, 2024. At the end of the phase, approximately 25 teams will be awarded $80,000 and be eligible to compete in the Engage phase.  In the Engage phase, Embark winners will engage with their community stakeholders to develop the community’s vision for their future clean energy or decarbonization project. Finally, in the Establish phase, Engage winners will create plans for carrying out at least one specific, technically novel clean energy or decarbonization project. By the end of the prize, competitors should be poised to start—or already have begun—developing their project.   

This SOLVE IT Prize is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) through the Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF). The DOE Office of Technology Transitions (OTT), Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) have collaborated to launch the SOLVE IT Prize.   

Get Started Now  

For more information on the prize and how to get involved, take the following steps: 

• Follow updates and read the official prize rules on the SOLVE IT Prize HeroX page 
• Reach out to [email protected] with questions about the prize.