EPIC 2025
OTT is excited to offer another year of support for small business, incubators, and accelerators via EPIC in 2025. The 2025 program will consist of our highly regarded pitch competitions. All previous EPIC incubator and accelerator awardees will be eligible to nominate an energy technology startup. Startup finalists will be selected to pitch their ideas to a panel of DOE and industry reviewers for the chance to win cash awards.
Stay tuned for details as locations and dates are finalized.
The following pitch competition has been confirmed so far:
EPIC Pitch Competition at the 2025 Energy Thought Summit in San Antonio, TX from May 19-22, 2025. This is the 12 annual event hosted and produced by Zpryme. View the event webpage here.
EPIC PRIZE Round 3
The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Technology Transitions (OTT), EPIC Round 3 is a $4 million competitive funding program for the nation’s most innovative incubators supporting energy innovation clusters. EPIC Round 3 awarded cash prizes and a three-year cooperative agreement to regional incubator teams that submit the most creative and impactful plans, then implement those plans to develop strong programming, connections, and support for energy startups and entrepreneurs. EPIC Round 3 is no longer accepting applications. The five projects that were awarded 3-year cooperative agreements are now in progress. OTT is looking forward to the exciting future of EPIC in 2025. Stay tuned for updates on prospective opportunities through the EPIC program!
Phase 1
In April 2024, OTT announced the Phase 1 winners of the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Round 3. Twenty-three incubators and accelerators from across the nation were each awarded $150,000 for programs designed to support energy startups and entrepreneurs in their communities. Applicants included traditional business accelerators and incubators, as well as innovative entrepreneurship communities and startup advocacy organizations.
Read the official announcement.
Phase 2
In December 2024, OTT announced the Phase 2 winners of the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Round 3. Five teams were awarded the opportunity to negotiate and up to $1M 3-year cooperative agreement with DOE.
Read the official announcement.
EPIC Reports
This report describes the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) program progress and implementation. This report builds off the published report to Congress in June 2022, which provided an overview of the EPIC program and plans for implementation. This report provides an update to Congress on the EPIC program, in its third round of awards and fourth year of programming as of FY 2024, including an overview of its program structure, awardees, as well as key performance measures and select outcomes for the program’s first two rounds
During Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, Congress appropriated $5 million and tasked the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) to fund incubators that support energy technology innovation clusters. This in turn led to OTT's development of the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC). This report presents funding activities, award status and preliminary outcomes for EPIC through 2021.
Latest EPIC News
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Incubators and Accelerators Awarded Over $4.5 Million from DOE to Support Clean Energy Tech StartupsThe U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) announced five Phase 2 winners of the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Round 3.December 5, 2024
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at the Fall 2024 EPIC Startup Pitch Competition, three startups were named winners by the DOE Office of Technology Transitions after pitching their groundbreaking energy technologies.September 11, 2024
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The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) today announced $70,000 total to three winning clean energy startups and one incubator through the 2024 Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Prize Collaboration Event.May 15, 2024
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The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) announced the Phase 1 winners of the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Round 3.April 2, 2024
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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) has named the grand prize winners in the American-Made Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Prize Round 2. Four incubators were each awarded $500,000 in cash prizes.November 1, 2023
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DOE is launching a new version of its successful American-Made EPIC Prize. The $4 million EPIC Round 3 competitive funding program will award cash prizes to the nation’s most innovative incubators supporting energy startups and entrepreneurs.September 26, 2023
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DOE has named the semifinalists in the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Prize. Twnety-four incubators and accelerators were each awarded $50,000 in cash prizes for their high-impact ideas that support energy start-ups and entrepreneurs.December 6, 2022
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DOE has crowned five winners of the EPIC Prize Pitch Competition, awarding more than $160,000 to those with the highest-potential tech energy innovation.July 18, 2023
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The Office of Technology Transitions is announcing the launch of the American-Made EPIC Prize Round 2, a $4-million competition designed to award prizes to regional incubators that implement high-impact ideas to support energy startups and entrepreneurs.August 2, 2022 -
Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) strengthens innovation ecosystem development in ten regions around the United States.June 4, 2021 -
DOE announces selections for the prize portion of the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC).October 7, 2020
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OTT announced a $1 million prize to stimulate regional energy innovation ecosystems.July 20, 2020