The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) is launching the American-Made Promoting Registration of Inverters and Modules with Ecolabel (PRIME) Prize.
Donor Name: Solar Energy Technologies Office
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Awards and Prizes
Deadline: 04/18/2025
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
This prize aims to incentivize the registration of solar photovoltaic (PV) module and inverter products through the Global Electronics Council’s (GEC’s) Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) ecolabel for sustainable electronic technology products. With a greater number of products listed in the EPEAT ecolabel’s online registry, the federal government will be better equipped to meet procurement requirements for the adoption of solar energy in construction and power purchase agreements to meet sustainability goals. In addition, a greater number of products in the EPEAT Registry will indicate to the market at large that the positive product life cycle and impact attributes contained in EPEAT criteria should be seriously considered when purchasing PV modules and inverters.
The American-Made Promoting Registration of Inverters and Modules with Ecolabel (PRIME) Prize is a two-phase, $2.7 million competition aimed at increasing EPEAT registration of solar PV modules and inverters. The goal is to help manufacturers meet the high bar for EPEAT product standards and make their products more attractive to purchasers with sustainability goals.
EPEAT is an ecolabel operated and maintained by the Global Electronics Council (GEC) for certain electronic products, including solar PV modules and inverters.
Prize Structure
The PRIME Prize offers a total prize pool of $2.7 million in cash prizes across two phases.
- Phase 1: Manufacturers submit letters of intent to register up to four PV module or inverter products with EPEAT and provide proof of participation with the GEC. Winners will receive $50,000 in cash and move to Phase 2. Submissions due April 17, 2025.
- Phase 2: Manufacturers validate that their products meet all required EPEAT criteria and submit proof of EPEAT product registration from the GEC. At the end of Phase 2, manufacturers win $100,000 in cash for each of the products identified in their Phase 1 submission that achieve EPEAT registry listing, up to $400,000 in cash total. Submissions due on a three-month rolling basis May 2026 – March 2027.
Eligibility Criteria
The PRIME Prize is open to U.S.-based manufacturing organizations of either solar PV modules or inverters. Eligible applicants must not have any previously EPEAT-registered PV modules or inverters.
For more information, visit SETO.
