Beyond the Meter: Energy Storage Integration Prize 2026

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Electricity (OE) is launching the American-Made Beyond the Meter: Energy Storage Integration Prize (“Beyond the Meter Prize”), a two-phase competition designed to enhance affordability through consumer-focused innovations in integrating behind the meter (BTM) energy storage systems (ESS).

Donor Name: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

State: All States

County: All Counties

Type of Grant: Awards and Prizes

Deadline: 05/01/2026

Size of the Grant: $500,000 to $1 million

Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned

Details:

The prize offers a total prize pool of $3,400,000 in cash prizes and $800,000 in vouchers to be used at a DOE national laboratory across two phases with two separate tracks.

Behind-the-meter (BTM) storage is a powerful mechanism to lower energy costs for electricity consumers, delivering documented annual savings for households, reducing demand charges for commercial entities, and improving net present value for system owners. Realizing this potential, however, necessitates addressing existing interoperability challenges to ensure grid-wide coordination and efficient value stacking of BTM resources. BTM storage has the potential to unlock significant value for the grid and individual customers, especially when working in concert with other consumer-focused energy resources.

The high cost and engineering complexity of integrating and coordinating consumer-focused energy resources designed by different entities can result in missed opportunities to co-optimally operate these assets and maximize their potential benefits.

This prize will highlight innovative solutions that enhance affordability through integration and interoperability of BTM grid-edge technology and other grid-edge resources. By strategically deploying energy storage on consumers’ premises, the management of BTM assets can be optimized, facilitating the transition to a more reliable and affordable energy future.

Goal Requirements

Only submissions relevant to the goals of this program are eligible to compete. The prize administrator must conclude that all the following statements are true when applied to your submission:

The proposed solution is related to energy system integration, energy storage, or the consumer focused energy resources industry.
The majority of activities that are described in and support the submission package are performed in the United States and have the potential to benefit the U.S. market.
The proposed solution represents an innovation that will move the industry beyond its current state.
The proposed solution is not dependent on new, pending, or proposed federal, state, or local government legislation, resolutions, appropriations, measures, or policies.
The proposed solution does not involve the lobbying of any federal, state, or local government office.
The proposed solution is based on fundamentally sound technical principles and is consistent with a basic understanding of the U.S. market economy.
By submitting a prize entry, the competitor affirms their intention to participate in the OE Energy Storage Peer Review event scheduled for Summer 2026, contingent upon their selection as Phase 1 winner.
Those chosen as Phase 1 winners are responsible for all associated costs related to the 2026 OE Energy Storage Peer Review event, including but not limited to registration, travel, lodging, food, shipping costs for posters, and any other associated costs. Winners are encouraged to fund the conference-related expenses from their prize winnings.
By submitting a prize entry, the competitor affirms its intention to participate in the OE Energy Storage Peer Review event scheduled for Summer 2027, contingent upon selection as a Phase 1 winner.
Those chosen as Phase 1 winners are responsible for all associated costs related to the 2027 OE Energy Storage Peer Review event, including but not limited to registration, travel, lodging, food, shipping costs for posters, and any other associated costs. Winners are encouraged to fund the conference-related expenses from their prize winnings.

Tracks

This prize includes two distinct tracks—one focused on residential solutions and the other focused on commercial and industrial solutions:

Residential Solution Track
Commercial/Industrial Solution Track.

Prizes

The Beyond the Meter Prize offers a total prize pool of $3,400,000 in cash prizes and $800,000 in vouchers to be used at a DOE national laboratory across two phases with two separate tracks.

Phase 1

Residential Solution Track: $250,000 cash prize each and $100,000 voucher each
Commercial/Industrial Solution Track: $250,000 cash prize each and $100,000 voucher each

Phase 2

Residential Solution Track: $950,000 cash prize and $100,000 voucher
Commercial/Industrial Solution Track: $950,000 cash prize and $100,000 voucher

Eligibility Criteria

All- Phase Eligibility The competition is open only to private entities (for-profits and nonprofits); nonfederal government entities such as states, counties, Tribes, and municipalities; and academic institutions, subject to the following requirements:

A group of individuals competing as one team may win, provided that the online account holder of the submission is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Individuals competing as part of a team are eligible to participate if they are legally authorized to work in the United States.
Private entities must be incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States.
Academic institutions must be based in the United States and have federally-recognized accreditation.
DOE employees and DOE support service contractors, members of their immediate families (e.g., spouses, children, siblings, or parents), and persons living in the same household, whether or not related, are not eligible to participate in the prize.
Individuals who worked at DOE (federal employees or support service contractors) within six months prior to the submission deadline of the Beyond the Meter contest are not eligible to participate in any prize contests in this program.
Non-DOE federal entities and federal employees are not eligible to participate in any portion of the prize.
DOE national laboratory employees cannot compete in the prize.
Entities and individuals publicly banned from doing business with the U.S. government, such as entities and individuals debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participating in Federal programs, are not eligible to compete.
Individuals participating in a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program2 sponsored by a Foreign Country of Concern (FCOC)3 and teams that include such individuals are not eligible to compete.
Entities owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a government of a FCOC are not eligible to compete.
Phase 1 – Introduction Eligibility
- A competitor may only submit one submission regardless of track. Competitors must designate whether they are competing in the Residential Solution Track or the Commercial/Industrial Solution Track. DOE reserves the right to move a submission into any track at its discretion.
Phase 2 – Progress Eligibility
- A competitor may only submit one submission regardless of track. Competitors must designate whether they are competing in the Residential Solution Track or the Commercial/Industrial Solution Track. DOE reserves the right to move a submission into any track at its discretion.
- Only Phase 1 – Introduction winners are eligible to compete in Phase 2 – Progress.