Meet the Solar Prize Round 7 Finalists

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) announced the 10 teams selected to advance to the final phase of the multi-million dollar American-Made Solar Prize Round 7. The finalists will each receive $100,000 in cash and compete in the next stage of the competition. Three of the finalists also split a $50,000 bonus cash prize for winning the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Contest, which encourages solutions that enable underserved communities to overcome systemic barriers to solar deployment. 

The Solar Prize Round 7 finalists are:  

• 1Climate (New York City, NY) 
• Electra (Bellingham, WA) 
• EmpowerSun Solutions (Aurora, CO) – JEDI Contest Winner 
• Fram Energy (Newburgh, NY) - JEDI Contest Winner 
• Gridwave (Austin, TX) 
• Gritt Robotics (Belmont, CA) 
• Illumination Solar Training (Jefferson, WI) – JEDI Contest Winner   
• NC Solar Inverters (Cary, NC) 
• Pavilion Solar (Miami, FL) 
• Solar Unsoiled (Durham, NC)   

In the coming months, finalists will bring their concepts closer to commercialization and present their innovations at the Go! Demo Day at the RE+ conference in September 2024. Two teams will then be named grand prize winners, each earning $500,000 in cash and additional support vouchers. Select teams may also be awarded additional funds through their participation in the JEDI contest.   

Learn more about the American-Made Solar Prize.

Solar Energy Technologies Office | energy.gov/eere