Student Design Workshop Announced for November 20 – EnergyTech University Prize

Opportunity for Student Innovators!

Are you passionate about turning big ideas into real-world solutions? Ready to learn how to bring groundbreaking energy technologies to market? Join our Student Design Workshop and learn about entrepreneurship and how to pitch business plans for energy technologies.

This workshop is intended to help student teams form and compete in the upcoming EnergyTech University Prize, led by the Department of Energy Office of Technology Transition.

Workshop Details:

🗓 Date: November 20
Time: 5:30-7:00 PM CST
🎟 Register by November 18: Click here to secure your spot
💸 Bonus: Register by November 19 and stay for the first 45 minutes will enter a drawing for a $50 Visa gift card (two winners)!

Who should attend the workshop?

If you’re a student eager to explore entrepreneurship, energy technologies, or simply curious about innovation, this workshop is for you. All backgrounds are welcome—no prior energy or engineering experience required. Join us if you’re interested in:

  • Business, marketing, sustainability, climate, or entrepreneurship
  • Creating a pitch-ready business plan

💡 No technology yet? No problem! We will have options to work on lab-developed tech, so you can dive in with other students and learn how to develop a pitch. 

What will you learn at the workshop?

Students will have an opportunity to learn more about the EnergyTech University Prize, the basics of entrepreneurship, the fundamentals of several energy technologies, and how to develop the business plan essentials to commercialize a technology. We hope to prepare student teams to submit abstracts for the EnergyTech University Prize by their submission deadline of February 3.

5:30-6:15 – Learn about the EnergyTech University Prize, basics of entrepreneurship and business planning, and lab-developed energy technologies.

6:15-7:30Breakout sessions where you’ll build your team, brainstorm business plans, and define customer targets, market strategies, and scaling opportunities.

Register for the November 20 Student Design Workshop by November 18 for a great learning opportunity and a chance to win a $50 Visa gift card for participating. 

Registration Link

What is the EnergyTech University Prize?

The EnergyTech University Prize is an innovative prize competition with a Student Track and a Faculty Track, both with a common goal—accelerate the clean tech industry. With prize opportunities provided from an array of DOE offices, the $545,000 competition aims to cultivate the next generation of energy innovators, educators, and entrepreneurs.

In the Student Track of EnergyTech University Prize, multidisciplinary student teams will compete for a share of more than $400,000 in cash prizes for successfully identifying a promising energy technology, assessing its market potential, and creating a business plan that leverages National Laboratory-developed or other high-potential energy technologies for commercialization. Select teams will have the opportunity to pitch their business plans to a panel of industry judges at a national competition in April 2025.

The Faculty Track of the EnergyTech University Prize offers more than $100,000 in cash prizes to faculty members passionate about the development and integration of educational activities centered on energy technology commercialization and entrepreneurship topics at their home institution. The content provided by faculty through their submissions is expected to inform a toolkit to be developed by OTT following the conclusion of this competition.

In addition to our workshop, interested students or faculty should register for a DOE-led workshop on December 10  Participants will hear details about available cash prizes and industry resources; learn how to find the cutting-edge energy technologies they can build their business plans around; and get their submission questions answered.

Those ready to join the competition can follow EnergyTech University Prize on the official competition platform, HeroX, and register a team now. Following the prize is the best way to stay up to date on submission deadlines and requirements, prize rules, and more. Energytech up 2025 intro slide

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Nina Axelson

Grid Catalyst was founded in 2021 by Nina Axelson, an industry leader with nearly 20 years of experience in energy and sustainability. Previously, Nina was the VP of Sustainability for Ever-Green Energy and served on the board of the International District Energy Association.

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