Geothermal Heat Pumps PATHs Prize

The American-Made Partnerships to Accelerate Training & Hiring for Geothermal Heat Pumps (GHP PATHs) Prize is a $3 million-dollar prize competition designed to hire, certify, and train the current and next generation of geothermal heat pump workers. Competitors leverage the American-Made Network, our innovation engine of more than 475 organizations, including world-class experts at the U.S. Department of Energy’s 17 national labs, clean tech accelerators, incubators, universities, facilities, and more.

Structured for Success

The Geothermal Heat Pumps (GHP) PATHs Prize encourages the rapid development of partnerships and programs that scale the hiring and training of GHP workers in all communities. GHP PATHs Prize competitors participate in three contests – Connect, Engage, and Execute – to transform their ideas into reality in months, rather than years. Competitors have a chance to win part of $3 million to help them advance in the competition and accelerate the development of their solutions.

• Phase 1: Connect – Competitors submit a narrative describing their vision for building a sustainable pathway to training and hiring in their defined region. Up to 20 winning teams will receive $40,000 each in cash and will be eligible to compete in Phase 2.
• Phase 2: Engage – Competitors formalize commitments between engaged partners. Partnerships analyze the gaps and needs of the GHP workforce in their defined region and propose a workforce development program with a realistic training plan and hiring strategy. At the end of Phase 2, up to 8 winning teams will receive $150,000 each in cash and be eligible to compete in Phase 3.
• Phase 3: Execute – Competitors execute their proposed workforce development program and submit results including number of workers trained, new hires, and plan on sustainable long-term industry commitments. Winning teams will receive from $100,000 to $400,000.

Expanding the GHP Workforce

The DOE Geothermal Technologies Office’s (GTO) goal is to build regional pipelines from people seeking jobs and training in geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) to companies and organizations offering GHP jobs and training, and organizations building regional demand for GHP services. That train-to-hire pipeline will look like this:

1.    Workers seeking jobs in GHPs (apprentices, temp agencies, trade unions, etc.)
2.    Certification & Training Providers
3.    Training Facilities
4.    Employers offering GHP jobs
5.    Non-profits & Municipalities who accelerate energy efficiency programs

Power Up Your Idea

DOE is committed to pushing the frontiers of science and engineering; catalyzing clean energy jobs through research, development, demonstration, and deployment; and ensuring environmental justice and the inclusion of disadvantaged communities. DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) funds the Geothermal Heat Pumps PATHs Prize in order to spur the training, certifying, and hiring of the geothermal heating and cooling workforce. To maximize the impact of the prize funds, GTO is striving to ensure that the work it funds supports economic, geographic, or programmatic diversity in the clean energy economy.   

Prize Timeline

View the official prize timeline for the most current dates and deadlines. All dates are subject to change, including challenge openings, deadlines, and announcements. 

Connecting You to the American-Made Network

The American-Made Network provides support to GHP PATHs Prize competitors throughout the competition and is composed of national labs, incubators, investors, facilities, and seasoned industry mentors. The American-Made Network strengthens and scales the critical connections needed to grow new businesses, develop solutions, and sustain American innovation. 

Who Can Compete? 

Are you a thinker, entrepreneur, or innovator? You belong here. Anyone with a groundbreaking idea can help transform the geothermal industry through the American-Made Geothermal Heat Pumps PATHs Prize.

Competitors are entrepreneurial individuals or teams legally residing or based in the United States. Competitors can be individuals of one or multiple organizations, students, university faculty members, employers, researchers, or anyone with the desire and drive to transform an idea into an impactful solution.

For full eligibility requirements, please read the official rules.