DOE Industrial Energy Storage Systems Prize — Phase 1: Design

DOE Industrial Energy Storage Systems Prize — Phase 1: Design

Funds teams designing cost-effective industrial energy storage concepts through a DOE prize competition for thermal and electric storage at industrial scale.

The DOE Industrial Energy Storage Systems Prize – Phase 1: Design is a prize competition administered by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Industrial Technologies Office (ITO), hosted on the HeroX platform. It is Phase 1 of a three-phase, $4.8 million prize challenge aimed at discovering cost-effective energy storage concepts for industrial facilities that enhance energy efficiency and can be applied broadly across industrial sectors.

Each Phase 1 winner receives $100,000 in cash. Up to 18 winners are selected across three categories — with up to six winners per category — and all Phase 1 winners become eligible to compete in Phase 2. The competition does not require matching funds, and there is no cost-share requirement. The award is a cash prize, not a grant, so no overhead or indirect cost rules apply.

The competition is open to a wide range of applicants: individuals, for-profit companies, nonprofits, non-federal government entities (states, counties, tribes, municipalities), and academic institutions. Teams of any size may compete. There are no revenue, employee count, or company age restrictions. U.S. registration is not explicitly required by the source, though the prize focuses on U.S. industrial energy efficiency.

Phase 1 requires competitors to present a cost-effective design concept for industrial-level thermal or electric energy storage. Submissions are made through the HeroX platform. The challenge page noted the competition was closed to new competitors at the time of capture, with no new Phase 1 deadline published. Winners of Phase 1 advance to Phase 2 (Advance, $200,000 per winner) and then Phase 3 (Validate, $400,000 per winner).

The competition is noted as closed to new competitors. No future Phase 1 cycle has been announced. Teams already accepted into the competition may still progress through subsequent phases, but new entry into Phase 1 is no longer open.