Science Synthesis Prize
Generate new and comprehensive knowledge on the current state-of-science in renewable integration with the $125,000 Science Synthesis Prize!
The $125,000 Science Synthesis Prize: Identifying Key Barriers to Renewable Integration, launched by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity (OE), aims to expand the renewable energy research community and catalyze transdisciplinary scholarship and practice. OE invites students, researchers, industry partners, and key stakeholders to thoroughly analyze the landscape of the renewable energy integration theory and highlight pivotal opportunities and areas of investment that address integration challenges.
Prize Background
As new renewable energy technologies are developed and integrated into the electric grid, there continues to be new areas of opportunity and challenges that must be addressed. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Electricity (OE) invites graduate students, researchers, industry partners, and key stakeholders to apply for the American-Made Science Synthesis Prize: Identifying Key Barriers to Renewable Integration. Through this $125,000 prize, applicants are tasked with thoroughly analyzing the landscape of the renewable energy integration theory and practice and challenged to highlight pivotal opportunities, solutions, and areas of investment for addressing integration complications.
Competitors will form robust teams to develop an in-depth and cohesive research paper that highlights state-of-the-art renewable technologies, addresses the current and projected challenges associated with such technologies, and identifies the renewable integration gaps present throughout the industry that could be addressed with greater investment, research, development and/or awareness.
Up to 10 teams will each receive $10,000, with up to 5 teams being awarded an additional $5,000 each for exceptional submissions. Winning submissions will help inform DOE's roadmap to better understand and address potential roadblocks relating to the integration of large-scale renewable energy into the electric grid.
GRIT Prize Series
The Science Synthesis Prize is just one impactful component of the new Grid Resource Integration Technologies (GRIT) Prize Series. A joint effort from DOE’s Office of Electricity (OE) and the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), this prize series catalyzes research and development on grid modernization through large-scale integration of renewable technology, distributed resources, and stationary storage.
OE’s Science Synthesis Prize was launched in conjunction with SETO’s Data-Driven Distribution (3D) Solar Visibility Prize, a competition to incentivize innovators to develop models and algorithms that provide accurate and real-time information about distributed solar generation in electric power distribution networks.
Applicants are encouraged to apply to one or both prizes. Follow the prizes on HeroX for more information on upcoming GRIT Prize Series initiatives.
Who Can Compete?
The competition is open only to private entities (for-profits and nonprofits); nonfederal government entities such as states, counties, tribes, and municipalities; academic institutions; and individuals.
For more information on eligibility, please read the Official Rules
Please see the official timeline on the official prize platform HeroX, for the most current dates and deadlines. All dates are subject to change, including contest openings, deadlines, and announcements.
Important Dates
Please see the official timeline on the official prize platform HeroX, for the most current dates and deadlines. All dates are subject to change, including contest openings, deadlines, and announcements.
View the timeline and sign up for updates on the HeroX page.
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