American-Made Challenges (SETO)
Funds U.S. innovators in solar energy through prize competitions administered by NREL under DOE's Solar Energy Technologies Office.
American-Made Challenges is a prize competition series run by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) under the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO). The program funds innovation in solar energy technologies and applications through structured, phased prize competitions rather than traditional grants. Each challenge focuses on a specific solar technology or application area, with prize pools distributed across multiple phases as teams demonstrate progress. The LASSO Prize is one competition within this series, focused on cattle agrivoltaics.
Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.
Funds U.S. innovators developing and demonstrating heliostat components through a DOE prize competition under the American-Made Challenges program.
Funds U.S. teams developing low-cost solar-thermal desalination systems through a multi-stage prize competition with a $1 million grand prize.
Funds U.S. entrepreneurs advancing early-stage solar manufacturing prototypes through a DOE prize competition under the American-Made Challenges program.
Funds new, emerging, and expanding U.S. solar developers growing operations to support multiple community solar projects through a DOE prize competition.
Funds U.S. companies and organizations piloting cattle agrivoltaics projects through a phased prize competition to generate cost and outcome data.
Funds U.S. solar manufacturers and innovators registering photovoltaic modules and inverters with the EPEAT ecolabel through a prize competition.