American-Made Impact

Since 2018, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) American-Made program has connected innovators with top researchers, government funding, and national lab resources to more rapidly overcome market barriers, develop energy technologies, and build economic opportunities in communities across the U.S.

5 Year Report

See the American-Made Five-Year Impact Report.

The innovation framework helps innovators overcome obstacles and accelerate ideas and products to communities and markets. American-Made is where great ideas go to succeed. Maximize innovation opportunities to deployment through…basic and advanced technologies, innovator and startup acceleration, community building and engagement, workforce development. Illustration shows a person move from crawling to running to reaching a finish line.

DOE introduced American-Made to seed innovative ideas and speed progress. The model that emerged is one that:

  • Invites new ideas from innovators, startups, organizations of every size, and everyday citizens from all backgrounds, many of whom have never worked with the federal government
  • Connects participants with a nationwide network of experts, facilities, and resources, including DOE’s national laboratories
  • Incorporates the social and economic aspects of successful innovation, such as community engagement and workforce development
  • Accelerates technology commercialization and implementation readiness.

American-Made is funded by DOE and administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which drew from its experience in prize and competition design to shape the American-Made model.

History

American-Made launched its first prize in 2018 with an investment from the Solar Energy Technologies Office within DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The Solar Prize was a $3 million, multistage competition that used the resources of the budding American-Made Network and offered technical vouchers. Competitors pitched innovations at a demo day attended by industry experts, and two final winning teams went on to achieve even more.

On the heels of the Solar Prize’s success, other DOE offices—focused on manufacturing, buildings, vehicles, water, and geothermal energy—introduced their own American-Made Challenges. Thousands of teams applied and were supported by well-timed, right-sized resources.

Soon, American-Made was serving as a test bed for advancements in technology innovation and development, hardware, software, manufacturing, community involvement, capacity building, program development, data collection, education and training opportunities, and more.

In just 7 years, more than 100 new prizes have emerged from more than 20 DOE offices, offering $500 million in cash prizes and support. As part of the larger DOE innovation ecosystem, American-Made has begun positioning participants to be successful in other DOE research and development funding opportunities. 

See Why DOE Started Using Cash Prizes to Incentivize Innovation for more information about the American-Made program.

Participating U.S. Department of Energy Offices

American-Made has expanded far beyond its origins. Its prizes, competitions, vouchers, and network are supported by the following DOE and EERE offices:

  • Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (EERE)

  • Bioenergy Technologies Office (EERE)

  • Building Technologies Office (EERE)

  • Geothermal Technologies Office (EERE)

  • Grid Deployment Office

  • Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (EERE)

  • Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (EERE)

  • Integrated Strategies Office (EERE)

  • Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations

  • Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response

  • Office of Electricity

  • Office of Energy Justice and Equity

  • Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management

  • Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs

  • Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains

  • Office of State and Community Energy Programs

  • Office of Technology Transitions

  • Solar Energy Technologies Office (EERE)

  • Vehicle Technologies Office (EERE)

  • Water Power Technologies Office (EERE)

  • Wind Energy Technologies Office (EERE)