American-Made Solar Prize
Accelerate and Sustain American Solar Innovation
The American-Made Solar Prize is a multimillion-dollar prize competition designed to energize U.S. solar innovation through a series of contests that accelerate the entrepreneurial process from years to months.
Competitors leverage the American-Made Network, our innovation engine of more than 250 organizations, including world-class experts at the U.S. Department of Energy’s 17 national labs, clean tech accelerators, incubators, universities, facilities, and more.
The Solar Prize is not currently accepting submissions from new competitors. See results for past and current rounds and sign up for our newsletter for future prize opportunities.
A Prize Competition Structured for Success
The Solar Prize encourages the rapid development of innovative solar energy solutions capable of addressing the tough challenges facing the solar industry. Competitors participate in three progressive prize competitions: the Ready!, Set!, and Go! Contests.
Ready! Contest - Teams focus on innovative ideas that will address a solar industry technology need, proving that they have developed a great team, a game-changing solution, and an achievable plan.
Set! Contest - Teams make progress in developing and demonstrating early-stage proofs-of-concept.
Go! Contest - Teams focus on proving that their solutions successfully work and they have made substantial progress over the course of the contests.
These contests fast-track efforts to identify, develop, and test disruptive solutions for millions in cash prizes and support vouchers, which can be used at national laboratories and other voucher facilities to develop, test, and validate technologies. The amount of available prizes changes from round to round
Join and competeThe American-Made Network
The American-Made Network provides support to Solar Prize competitors throughout the competition and is composed of national labs, incubators, investors, facilities, and seasoned industry mentors. The American-Made Network strengthens and scales the critical connections needed to grow new businesses, develop solutions, and sustain American innovation.
Start finding connections
Who Can Compete?
Anyone with a big idea for solar can participate in the Solar Prize.
Competitors are entrepreneurial individuals or teams legally residing or based in the United States. Competitors can be individuals of one or multiple organizations, students, university faculty members, small business owners, researchers, or anyone with the desire and drive to transform an idea into an impactful solution.
Be Revolutionary
Are you a thinker, entrepreneur, facility or potential partner? Anyone with an innovative idea can help revolutionize the solar industry through the American-Made Solar Prize.
Join the challenge