The American-Made Solar Prize is a multimillion-dollar prize competition designed to energize U.S. solar innovation through a series of contests and the development of a diverse and powerful support network that leverages national laboratories, energy incubators, and other resources across the country.
As the flagstone prize in the American-Made program, the Solar Prize has awarded over $15 million in prizes to entrepreneurs across the country since its inception in 2018.
Round 6
The Solar Prize Round 6 launched in June 2022 and will conclude in September 2023. Round 6 also offers participants the option to compete in a Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Contest, which offers additional cash prizes for technologies that consider and incorporate environmental justice principles. A total of $3 million in cash prizes, $900,000 in support vouchers, and $200,000 in optional JEDI Contest prizes are being awarded throughout the competition.
Check back for updates on the Solar Prize Round 6 results.
Round 5: Hardware Track
The Solar Prize Round 5 launched in June 2021 and will conclude in September 2022. The fifth round of the Solar Prize is designed to spur more solar innovation than ever before by splitting participants into two separate technology-focused tracks: the Hardware Track and Software Track. A total of $3 million in cash prizes and $900,000 in support vouchers are being awarded throughout the competition.
The Ready! Contest opened on June 15, 2021. Semifinalists were announced Dec. 7, 2021.
The Set! Contest opened Dec. 7, 2021. Finalists were announced April 22, 2022.
The Go! Contest opened April 22, 2022. The winners will be determined at the final demo day in September 2022.
The 20 semifinalist teams each took home a $50,000 cash prize in the Ready! Contest. The 10 finalist teams each took home a total of $150,000 in cash prizes and $75,000 in support vouchers in the Ready! and Set! Contests.
Team
Location
Submission Title
Status
CFV Labs
Albuquerque, NM
Power Electronics for the Next Generation of PV
Semifinalist
Enersion Inc.
San Diego, CA
Solar Powered Cooling, Heating and Electricity
Semifinalist
Giant Leap Technologies
Orinda, CA
Ten Thousand Splendid Suns
Semifinalist
Gismo Power Team
Sarasota, FL
Portable Solar Carport with Integrated EV-Charger!
Finalist
Leap Photovoltaics
San Francisco, CA
Wafer-Free Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells
Finalist
Mana Monitoring MeDER
Lahaina, HA
Integrating on-site Solar with EV Charging
Finalist
MSU Water and Energy Team
East Lansing, MI
Integrated Greenhouse for Food and Clean Water
Semifinalist
NanoSolarBoost
Hayward, CA
Spectrum Shifting Nanocoating
Semifinalist
Optivolt Labs
San Mateo, CA
Patina™: Solar that Works in the Shade
Semifinalist
Origami Solar
Bend, OR
Roll-Formed Steel Frames for PV Modules
Finalist
Portable Solar
Miami, FL
Novel PV Awning for Factory-Built Homes
Finalist
RCAM Technologies
Los Angeles, CA
3D Concrete Printed Anchors for Floating PV
Finalist
Resilient Energy & Infrastructure - RDHM
Nashville, TN
Rapid Deployment Hybrid MicroGrid “RDHM“
Semifinalist
Smartville
Carlsbad, CA
Riding the Solar Curve
Finalist
Solactivator
Fremont, CA
Solactivator: Economical Backup Power for Blackout
Semifinalist
SolarSCADA
Denver, CO
SolarSCADA: Modular SCADA specific to Solar
Finalist
Soliculture Hoop House
Scotts Valley, CA
Saving Water with Combined Solar and Agriculture
Semifinalist
Sun Deck Solar
Roswell, GA
Sun Deck Solar EV Charging Station
Finalist
Team Anar
Derry, NH
Optimizing Landfill Solar Power Production and Return on Investment
Semifinalist
TECSI Solar Inc.
El Sobrante, CA
Solvari SR, Simplifying Residential Solar to 1 SKU
Finalist
Round 5: Software Track
The Solar Prize Round 5 launched in June 2021 and will conclude in September 2022. The fifth round of the Solar Prize is designed to spur more solar innovation than ever before by splitting participants into two separate technology-focused tracks: the Hardware Track and Software Track. The Software Track also offers participants the option to compete in a JEDI Contest, which offers additional cash prizes for technologies that consider and incorporate environmental justice principles. A total of $1.6 million in cash prizes, $100,000 in support vouchers, and $300,000 in JEDI Contest prizes are being awarded throughout the competition.
The Ready! Contest opened on June 15, 2021. Semifinalists were announced Dec. 7, 2021.
The Set! Contest opened Dec. 7, 2021. Finalists were announced April 22, 2022.
The Go! Contest opened April 22, 2022. The winners will be determined at the final demo day in September 2022.
The 20 semifinalist teams each took home a $30,000 cash prize and eight teams won an additional $12,500 in the Ready! Contest. The 10 finalist teams each took home $60,000 in cash prizes and $33,333 in support vouchers in the Set! Contest.
Team
Location
Submission Title
Status
Better Solar
Orlando, FL
Automated Diagnostics of PV Module Health
Finalist
CircuSolar
Sheridan, WY
Facilitating Donations of Second-Life Solar Panels
Semifinalist; Ready! JEDI Contest winner
CleanFi
Los Angeles, CA
Accelerating Commercial Solar Growth for All
Finalist; Ready! JEDI Contest winner
Climformatics
Fremont, CA
Building Climate Sustainable Solar Energy Future
Semifinalist
Ecademy
Baltimore, MD
ECademy - online school to train solar installers
Semifinalist; Ready! JEDI Contest winner
illu
Sunnyvale, CA
illu: Illuminate Field Work for Distributed Solar
Finalist
KiloNewton
Albuquerque, NM
SolarSpace™ Toolbox: Optimize Site & Construction
Finalist
Leaptran
San Antonio, TX
Solarcast and Solarcheck (SC2)
Semifinalist
Midday Tech
San Francisco, CA
Voluntary Carbon Reduction through Rooftop Solar
Finalist; Ready! & Set! JEDI Contest winner
Nimbus AI
Honolulu, HI
Solar Forecasting with Machine Learning
Finalist
OptimoEnergy
Los Angeles, CA
AI Power Management and Sizing Software Packages
Semifinalist
People Power Solar Cooperative
Oakland, CA
Solar as a Tool for Building Community Wealth
Semifinalist; Ready! JEDI Contest winner
Sandbox Solar
Fort Collins, CO
Sandbox Agrivoltaics: Design & A.I for AgPV Design
Finalist
Solar Stewards Marketplace
Atlanta, GA
Solar Stewards Marketplace
Finalist; Ready! & Set! JEDI Contest winner
SolarGrade
Carlsbad, CA
SolarGrade: Elevated Asset Care
Finalist
SolarSpace
Tucson, AZ
SolarSpace E-Management Platform
Semifinalist
Tectonicus Constructs
Bisbee, AZ
Solar River- Covering & Powering Canals with Solar
Semifinalist
The CyberBorgs
Buffalo, NY
Merging the Real and Digital Worlds through a Cyber-Physical-Social Platform for Microgrids
Semifinalist; Ready! JEDI Contest winner
The Solar Equity Team
Boston, MA
The Solar Equity Platform
Finalist; Ready! & Set! JEDI Contest winner
Turbine Logic
Atlanta, GA
Democratizing PV Monitoring at Community Scale
Semifinalist
Round 4
The Solar Prize Round 4 launched in July 2020 and concluded in September 2021. A total of $3 million in cash prizes and $900,000 in support vouchers was awarded throughout the competition.
The Ready! Contest opened on July 9, 2020. Semifinalists were announced Dec. 4, 2020.
The Set! Contest opened Dec. 4, 2020. Finalists were announced April 9, 2021.
The winners were determined at a virtual demo day on Sept. 15, 2021, and announced at a live virtual event on Sept. 16, 2021.
The two winning teams each took home a total of $650,000 in cash prizes and $150,000 in support vouchers in the Ready!, Set!, and Go! Contests.
AeroShield Materials (Boston, MA) – Aerogel Insulated Solar Collector for Process Heat
This team developed a flat-plate solar-thermal energy collector system that operates at more than 120 degrees Celsius with efficiencies greater than 45%. Transparent aerogel insulation enables this performance, minimizes heat loss, allows for simpler receiver design, and reduces cost. Aerogel lets light pass through but doesn’t let heat escape.
the r&d lab (Petaluma, CA) – Roofing for the Sol
This team designed a metal residential roofing product to make solar roofs more aesthetically pleasing. It will match the color of the roof to the solar panels, increase the speed of installation, and match the lifespans of the solar and roof components. This innovation has the potential to increase solar adoption among consumers.
The 20 semifinalist teams each took home a $50,000 cash prize in the Ready! Contest. The 10 finalist teams each took home a total of $150,000 in cash prizes and $75,000 in support vouchers in the Ready! and Set! Contests.
Team
Location
Submission Title
Status
AeroShield Materials
Hyde Park, MA
Aerogel Insulated Solar Collector for Process Heat
Winner
Cool Tech Solar
North Oaks, MN
Solar Panel with Heatsink
Finalist
D&D Manufacturing LLC
Merritt Island, FL
Solar AirWall
Semifinalist
Energy for All
Elkridge, MD
Saving Solar Power
Finalist
Hawai’i Innovation Laboratory
Honolulu, HI
Room Temperature Metal Coating for CSP Mirror
Finalist
Lightfoot
San Francisco, CA
Lightfoot – Solar-Powered Vehicles
Semifinalist
NanoSpray
Brooklyn, NY
NanoSpray: Low Cost Solutions for Back Contacts
Finalist
NoMIS Power Group
Newtonville, NY
Harnessing the Sun Using Medium Voltage Silicon Carbide (SiC) Power Devices
Semifinalist
New Age Solar®
Monmouth County, NJ
The Mighty Power System
Semifinalist
Pellucere Technologies
Houston, TX
MORE POWER LESS DIRT
Finalist
Purdue Perovskite Solar Team
West Lafayette, IN
Stable and Scalable Perovskite Solar Cells
Semifinalist
the r&d lab
Petaluma, CA
Roofing for the Sol
Winner
Rocking Solar
Monroe, OH
Rocking Solar Tracker
Finalist
Sol Clarity
Boston, MA
Self-Cleaning Solar Power
Semifinalist
SolaBlock
Easthampton, MA
Integrated Solar Power and Insulated Wall System
Semifinalist
The Solar Panel Waste Recycling (SPWR)
Austin, TX
Cost-Effective Eco-Friendly PV Recycling
Semifinalist
SunTegra and CertainTeed
Highland, NY
Next-Gen Solar Roofing Product Collaboration
Semifinalist
Superclean Glass
Stony Brook, NY
Boosting energy yield from dusty solar panel
Finalist
Team NAVIA
San Jose, CA
Artificial Intelligence Enabled Battery-Less Solar Hybrid Inverter
Semifinalist
Urban Energy
Brooklyn, NY
Urban Energy Solar Canopy
Finalist
Round 3
The Solar Prize Round 3 launched in September 2019 and concluded in December 2020. A total of $3 million in cash prizes and $900,000 in support vouchers was awarded throughout the competition.
The Set! Contest opened in February 2020. Finalists were determined at a virtual demonstration day on July 9, 2020. This marked the beginning of the Go! Contest
The winners were determined at a virtual demo day on Dec. 3, 2020, and announced at a live virtual event on Dec. 4, 2020.
The two winning teams each took home a total of $650,000 in cash prizes and $150,000 in support vouchers in the Ready!, Set!, and Go! Contests.
Maxout Renewables (Livermore, CA) — Evergrid: Keep Solar Flowing When the Grid is Down
This team developed the Evergrid, an appliance powered by a fly-wheel that can turn a residential solar installation into a microgrid that keeps delivering power during a grid outage while the sun is shining. The Evergrid also stabilizes the home microgrid by providing power balancing capacity when appliances like refrigerators cycle on and off.
Wattch Inc. (Atlanta, GA) — The OS for Modern Energy Companies
This team developed cost-effective hardware and combined it with secure, scalable software to make a solar monitoring platform to help commercial and industrial PV plants increase operational efficiency. The platform can provide predictive maintenance schedules to decrease downtime, has a universal dashboard that lets PV fleet owners and operators observe the performance of all their systems, improve remote and automated diagnostics, and better model a plant’s lifetime energy yield.
The 20 semifinalist teams each took home a $50,000 cash prize in the Ready! Contest. The 10 finalist teams each took home a total of $150,000 in cash prizes and $75,000 in support vouchers in the Ready! and Set! Contests.
Team
Location
Submission Title
Status
CraftStrom Team
Houston, TX
Democratizing Solar with Artificial Intelligence (AI) Energy Management
Semifinalist
Dunmore - Flexible PV Substrates
Bristol, PA
Transparent Polymer Barrier Films for PV
Semifinalist
Enertronics, Inc.
Blacksburg, VA
Low-Cost Parallel-Type DC Power Optimizer
Finalist
Guillaume von Gastrow’s Team
San Diego, CA
PV WaRD
Semifinalist
infiniRel
Santa Cruz, CA
PowerBrain - infiniRel’s Inverter Health Analyzer
Finalist
Jennie Yoshimoto’s Team
San Antonio, TX
Simple-Assembly Solar Kit
Semifinalist
John Hollick’s Team
Buffalo, NY
SolarWall Power Tower
Semifinalist
Lawrence Kearns
Chicago, IL
TrackerSled, Solar-assisted Drawdown
Finalist
Maxout Renewables
Livermore, CA
Evergrid: Keep solar flowing when the grid is down
Winner
Paul Leu’s Team
Pittsburgh, PA
Durable Antireflective and Self-Cleaning Glass
Semifinalist
Paul Pursifull’s Team
Detroit, MI
Allbrand Solar Monitor
Semifinalist
Pursuit Solar
Denver, NC
Pursuit Solar - More Power. Less Hassle.
Finalist
Renu Robotics
San Antonio, TX
Robotics Changing the Landscape for Solar Farms
Finalist
Rise Energy Systems
Charlottesville, VA
Remotely Deployed Solar Arrays
Semifinalist
Shine: Humanitarian Solar
Portland, OR
JuiceBox: Integrated Portable Solar Microgrid
Finalist
Simple Install Sol-Ark VPP Solar Storage
Parker, TX
Affordable Local Solar Storage via Utility Virtual Power Plants
Semifinalist
Uplift Solar -- Innovative Power Electronics
Las Vegas, NV
Uplift: Embedded Multifunction Power Electronics
Finalist
Vagner
Duluth, MN
Solar for Snow
Semifinalist
Verify Energy Inc.
Berkeley, CA
Plug-and-play universal solar monitoring
Finalist
Wattch Inc.
Atlanta, GA
Wattch - The OS for Modern Energy Companies
Winner
Round 2
The Solar Prize Round 2 launched in March 2019 and concluded in August 2019. A total of $3 million in cash prizes and $900,000 in support vouchers was awarded throughout the competition.
The Set! Contest closed on March 4, 2020. The finalists were determined at a virtual demo day on March 27 and announced on March 30, 2020, marking the beginning of the Go! Contest.
The two winning teams each took home a total of $650,000 in cash prizes and $150,000 in support vouchers in the Ready!, Set!, and Go! Contests.
Resilient Power Systems (Georgetown, TX) — >15kV Power Router DC Coupled Solar + Storage
This team developed a hybrid inverter that enables interconnection between solar, storage, and other energy resources using a novel wide-bandgap technology platform. Their power router enables direct connection of these resources to the medium-voltage distribution grid, integrating transformers and inverters into a single unit. The integrated design provides a clear pathway for domestic manufacturing.
SunFlex Solar (Tempe, AZ) — Back-Contacted Silicon Modules at the Cost of Passivated Emitter and Rear Contact
This team is replacing the high-cost copper backsheets on standard back-contacted silicon solar cells with aluminum, which costs less. They will use a high-speed laser to weld the aluminum backsheet to the silicon wafer. The team has secured a path to manufacture this technology domestically to produce high-efficiency, cost-competitive solar modules.
The 20 semifinalist teams each took home a $50,000 cash prize in the Ready! Contest. The 10 finalist teams each took home a total of $150,000 in cash prizes and $75,000 in support vouchers in the Ready! and Set! Contests.
Team
Location
Submission Title
Status
Asoleyo Architectural Solar
Herndon, VA
Decorative Solar Tiles
Finalist
BlueDot Photonics
Seattle, WA
Sunlight-Shaping Solar Panels
Semifinalist
Epiphany
Pittsburgh, PA
CSP Trans-Critical Water Desalination
Semifinalist
Erik Ydstie’s Team
Pittsburgh, PA
Continuous Silicon Wafer Production
Finalist
Gizmatic
Oxon Hill, MD
Reliable, Low-Cost Passive Solar Tracker
Semifinalist
Locally Grown Power
Claremont, CA
Locally Grown Power
Semifinalist
Moon Shine
Winston-Salem, NC
Optimized Solar Storage Solution
Semifinalist
Orison
Cody, WY
A Self-Installable Energy Storage System
Finalist
Resilient Power Systems
Georgetown, TX
>15kV Power Router DC Coupled Solar + Storage
Winner
SIGUE
Hudson, OH
Smart Off-Grid PV Energy Management
Semifinalist
Solar-20
Ann Arbor, MI
Solar-20
Semifinalist
SolPavers
New Braunfels, TX
Invisible, Low-Cost Solar
Finalist
Sundial Energy
Tucson, AZ
Critical Network Infrastructure Support
Semifinalist
SunFlex Solar
Tempe, AZ
Back-Contacted Silicon Modules at the Cost of Passivated Emitter and Rear Contact
Winner
Switched Source
Vestal, NY
Power Router for Distributing Solar in Communities
Finalist
Taka Solar
Mountain View, CA
Advanced Bifacial Panel
Finalist
Teq Strategy
Ashburn, VA
Micro-Solar Manufacturing
Semifinalist
Terra Pave
Austin, TX
Dirt Control, Bifacial Reflect, Roads Replacement
Finalist
Vespr Solar
Norman, OK
V-Clip: Module Attachment System
Finalist
Zitara Technologies
Oakland, CA
Zitara Battery Analytics
Semifinalist
Round 1
The Solar Prize Round 1 launched in February 2018 and concluded in September 2019. A total of $3 million in cash prizes and $900,000 in support vouchers was awarded throughout the competition.
The Ready! Contest opened on June 7, 2018, and closed on Oct. 5, 2018. Semifinalists were announced on Feb. 27, 2019.
The Set! Contest closed on May 6, 2019, and finalists were determined at a demo day on June 6, 2019, marking the beginning of the Go! Contest
The two winning teams each took home a total of $650,000 in cash prizes and $150,000 in support vouchers in the Ready!, Set!, and Go! Contests.
Phase3 Photovoltaics (Portland, OR) – Prefabricated Solar Systems
This team developed a solution that integrates solar into factory-built homes. By incorporating solar cells in the manufacturing process, they are able to provide their solar home solution at a substantially lower cost per watt as compared to traditional installation.
Solar Inventions (Atlanta, GA) – Configurable Current Cell: C3
This team created a new photovoltaic cell design that can help produce a more stable and reliable solar module. This team has effectively divided the cell into multiple sections without physically breaking it. This prevents hot spots and improves efficiency and safety.
The 20 semifinalist teams each took home a $50,000 cash prize in the Ready! Contest. The 10 finalist teams each took home a total of $150,000 in cash prizes and $75,000 in support vouchers in the Ready! and Set! Contests.
Team
Location
Submission Title
Status
ARAYSTAYS
Annapolis, MD
Nothing Clips Like Python Grips!
Semifinalist
BREK Electronics
Boulder, CO
High-Capacity 250 Kilowatt Silicon Carbide Solar String Inverter
Finalist
Catalyst
Dearborn, MI
First Step Solar
Finalist
Crystal Sonic
Tempe, AZ
Acoustic Cleaving of Gallium Arsenide for Next Generation PV
Finalist
ETC Solar
Los Angeles, CA
Invisible Metal Contacts for Solar Cells
Semifinalist
Game Changer
Charlotte, NC
1500 Volt Solar Power Converter
Semifinalist
Imagen
Milwaukee, WI
Three-port Silicon Carbide–based High Frequency Power Conversion System