Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Technology Transitions (OTT), Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Round 3 is a $4 million competitive funding program for the nation’s most innovative incubators supporting energy startups.
Donor Name: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Awards and Prizes
Deadline: 02/10/2024
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
EPIC Round 3 awards cash prizes and a three-year cooperative agreement to regional incubator teams that submit the most creative and impactful plans, then implement those plans to develop strong programming, connections, and support for energy startups and entrepreneurs.
Technology startups require more than capital to launch, grow, and scale their innovations. Incubators provide the mentorship, technology validation, business development, connections to manufacturers, and other resources that are critical to a startup’s success. The prize seeks to address a capital gap in supporting these incubators by providing both short-term financial gains through a prize competition and a multi-year, stable funding program to be applied where domestic incubators need it most.
The new approach to EPIC—combining a prize competition with a cooperative agreement negotiation with OTT—encourages bold and impactful ideas, while providing incubators with the long-term funding needed to scale those ideas. Together with OTT and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, who manages EPIC Round 3, these incubators will strengthen the small business ecosystem in the United States and advance the clean energy future.
Program Structure
EPIC Round 3 is composed of three phases to support energy incubators and accelerators:
- Phase 1: Competitors will create a plan to support energy startups and entrepreneurs and define their metrics for success. Up to 20 competitors will win $150,000 each.
- Phase 2: Phase 1 finalists will begin to implement their novel programming and create a continuation plan worthy of selection for a cooperative agreement. Select Phase 2 winners will then be invited to negotiate a cooperative agreement with OTT worth up to $1 million.
- Phase 3: Winning teams will negotiate their three-year cooperative agreement with OTT.
Phase 2 will include two pitch competitions in which all past and present EPIC incubators can nominate energy startups for a chance to win the $100,000 grand prize.
Program Requirements
All competitors in EPIC must address the following Program Requirements
- Create New Programming – The competitor’s submission package proposes startup support services, programs, or program components that the incubator is not already pursuing in a given region. This also includes successful programming expanded to an underserved region in a new state.
- Support Startup Creation – The competitor helps startups to form and grow, with an emphasis on companies developing hard-tech18 for energy-related applications.
- Startup formation is the development of new, viable companies. Helping startups grow could include, but is not limited to, providing meaningful assistance toward fundraising, customer discovery, or technology maturation. Startups can be at any stage of maturity.
- Hard-tech is defined as technology solutions that involve physical products or processes.
- Energy-related applications are inclusive of any solutions that improve the cost, reliability, efficiency, or secondary impacts of energy usage and systems. For example, battery storage and carbon capture are considered energy-related applications.
- Build Regional Partnerships – The competitor grows and strengthens local networks of energy innovation stakeholders, including mentors, investors, universities, national labs, state/local government entities, manufacturing partners, and other organizations that add value to their startups and regional communities.
- Competitors should demonstrate how new or strengthened regional partnerships will increase opportunities for people of all racial, ethnic, socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender identities, and persons with disabilities; support new jobs and have positive long-term workforce implications; and support greater equity within the region.
- Submission packages must address at least one of the following – Teams can drive significant impact across multiple areas of interest, but competitors should consider prioritizing significant impact in a single area over a marginal impact across multiple areas. In the submission narrative, be sure to address your rationale for choosing your selected area(s).
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) – The competitor finds, recruits, and supports underrepresented or under supported entrepreneurs and helps startups recruit, hire, and retain employees from underrepresented backgrounds.
- Rural and Disadvantaged Communities – The competitor provides benefits to rural and disadvantaged communities by, for example, helping startups deploy demonstration projects in collaboration with members of disadvantaged communities.
- Lab-to-Market – The competitor supports the commercialization of technologies developed at DOE national laboratories by, for example (but not limited to), incentivizing the creation of startups licensing intellectual property (IP) from the national labs, brokering arrangements by which an established corporate entity utilizes national lab IP or facilities, or using market-driven approaches to spur research and development in strategic technology areas.
- Sector-Specific Support – The competitor develops tailored support services and programs for companies in a specific (competitor-identified) industry or technology area that is strategic for their region.
- Other High-Impact Theme – They welcome new and creative program ideas that will support the goals of EPIC. Examples may include, but are not limited to, programs focused on manufacturing or workforce development.
Competitor Eligibility
- OTT welcomes incubator organizations that aid in the development of new business ventures, including incubators, accelerators, co-working startup communities, or any other organizations that self-identify as advocates for innovation and entrepreneurship. They encourage these organizations, including organizations that have competed in prior rounds of the EPIC Prize, to compete in EPIC Round 3.
- This funding program is open to private entities (for-profits and nonprofits) and academic institutions that meet all eligibility requirements.
- Private entities must be incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States.
- Programming proposed by incubators must have an emphasis on supporting startups with a hard-tech focus.
- While National Laboratories are not eligible to compete, they may support teams in the competition if they are engaging the teams in compliance with lab partnership requirements.
For more information, visit DOE.
