EnergyTech University Prize National Pitch Finals Event

The Scott Institute hosted the inaugural national finals of EnergyTech University Prize competition, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Technology Transitions, as a part of CMU Energy Week 2022. 17 teams made it to the finals from eleven regional Explore events, and presented their business plans in front of energy industry judges.  

The finalists competed for a total of $250,000 in cash prizes as they explored business opportunities for lab-developed or other high-potential energy technologies, assessed commercialization opportunities through market analysis, and presented a viable business plan to industry judges. 

National Winners and Technology Bonus Prize Finalists 

The winning teams were announced during the CMU Energy Week 2022 Virtual Networking Mixer which was the culmination of four amazing days of competitions. The event included  investors, corporates, academia, government agencies and other energy stakeholders along with energy week competitors. The following teams have been selected as EnergyTech UP National Winners and Technology Bonus Prize Finalists. 

The list of 17 finalist teamswho competed in the EnergyTech UP National Pitch Finals and their university affiliations:  

• Plug-and-Play Nuclear Energy Generator, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

• Recycling of Spent Lithium Ion Batteries, University of Minnesota Twin Cities 
• Future Heat, The University of Utah 
• Structural Piezoelectric Supercapacitors, University of Miami 
• ElectroMaim, The George Washington University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
• Super Compact Wireless Charging Infrastructure (Self-Res Power), The University of Tennessee, Knoxville 

• Lignolix: Unlocking the Value of Lignin, University of Delaware 
• Alpha Nur, The University of Chicago and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
• Mesophase Steam Condensers, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 
• Self-Powered Autonomous Robot for Power Lines, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 
• Solar Shepherds - Agrivoltaics Solutions, Appalachian State University 
• Smart i-Floor, University of Connecticut 
• Natrion, Boston College, Indiana University, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
• Mechanochemical Recycling of LCO Batteries, from Stanford University 
• Deployable Off-Grid CSP Solar Thermal Desalination, University of Hawai’i 
• Pantheon, A Carbon-Negative Cement Replacement, The State University of New York at Binghamton 
• Magnetic Gears - FluxWorks, Texas A&M University