At the conclusion of Go! Demo Day in September 2024, Fram Energy was named a grand prize winner of the American-Made Solar Prize Round 7. Read on to learn more about their Solar Prize journey and where they’re headed next!
Fram Energy received a $500,000 cash prize and a $75,000 national lab voucher as a grand prize winner for their innovative billing software that gives renters the ability to access and benefit from solar energy. This brought the team’s total winnings throughout Round 7 of the Solar Prize to more than $650,000 in cash prizes and $150,000 in technical vouchers.
The team’s winning technology incentivizes solar deployment on rental units by enabling both renters and landlords to capture energy savings. The software helps the landlord select the most suitable solar installation for their property and distributes the cost savings to both the tenant and the property owner. This innovation and its win-win model will help unlock the more than 400TW/year in clean energy generation that currently goes unrealized through rental homes.
Since founding their company just over a year before Go! Demo Day, the Solar Prize has helped set Fram Energy on an accelerated growth trajectory. They launched their first project in May 2024, earned their first revenue in July 2024, attracted 25 partners, and have more than 90 customers in the pipeline. Fram Energy has been particularly focused on gaining traction in underserved communities where their technology can help tenants save money on energy bills.
The team was also named a Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Contest winner in the second stage of the prize for their attention to bringing solar to the underserved rental market.
With their Solar Prize winnings, Fram Energy is planning to grow their business by hiring new team members and accelerating product development. The technical vouchers will also enable Fram Energy to continue collaborating with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to expand their work.
See Fram Energy’s winning Solar Prize submission and learn more about their startup!
