Help support the foundations that enable tomorrow’s hydropower development!
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) launched the Groundbreaking Hydro Prize to encourage the development of new ideas to cut the costs, timelines, and risks associated with hydropower development. Inspiring innovators to compete for $300,000 in cash prizes, the Groundbreaking Hydro Prize elicits innovative concepts for geotechnical hydropower foundations. As many as nine winners will be selected.
Are you ready for the challenge?
Like roots to a tree, geotechnical foundations provide structural support to a hydropower facility, and must be developed to ensure stability, safety, and performance for decades. While foundations are central to dam safety, challenges in their design and construction can lead to major project delays and cost overruns, potentially jeopardizing a project’s success.
Through the Groundbreaking Hydro Prize, WPTO is soliciting solutions that address key challenges faced in one or more of the three foundation development phases, namely:
Targeting the most promising opportunity for future hydropower growth, the prize seeks solutions that are:
Please note that superstructures, including dams, are excluded from the prize scope.
Proposed methods, techniques, and technologies should aim to:
Solutions may stem from within the hydropower industry or leverage lessons learned from a diverse set of fields, from maritime construction to advanced manufacturing, offshore wind, transportation, residential and commercial building industries, and beyond to develop transformative methods or technologies that can be applied to hydropower projects.
The Groundbreaking Hydro Prize will award $300,000 in cash prizes. Three finalists will be selected as the Groundbreaking Prize winners, each receiving $50,000; up to six Innovator Prize winners will be selected to receive $25,000 each.
Sign up for updates on our HeroX challenge page.
Any innovators, visionaries, or enthusiasts from across a variety of industries can apply! Join the community as an individual and find like-minded collaborators.
Are you a thinker, entrepreneur, or potential partner? Anyone with an innovative idea can participate in the American-Made Challenges.