The Solar Prize aims to accelerate the entrepreneurial process in order to fast-track the introduction of new, innovative solutions to the solar marketplace. To achieve this goal, the prize requires competitors to demonstrate the commercial viability of their innovation. So, what does that mean for you?
Commercialization is the process of turning a research-based idea into a market-ready solution, and Solar Prize competitors must show that their solution can be commercialized and achieve market entry within the next 3 to 5 years. The Ready! Set!, and Go! Contests are designed to help you advance your solar technology through the early phases of the commercialization process:
- The Ready! Contest supports the research and development phase. Competitors identify an impactful idea or solution addressing a critical need in the solar industry, and that idea has the potential to be in the solar marketplace within 3 to 5 years.
- The Set! Contest enables competitors to work to advance their technology solution toward a viable and promising proof of concept.
- The Go! Contest helps competitors substantially advance their solution from proof of concept to a refined prototype and find a partner to perform a pilot test of the prototype.
Later phases of the commercialization process include steps related to testing and optimization; mass production scale-up and manufacturing; regulatory approvals; market analysis and strategy; and launch and distribution. These phases would be completed by teams after the conclusion of the Solar Prize but are still included in the 3-to-5-year commercialization timeline.
For the purposes of entering the Solar Prize, your submission should demonstrate that your idea can complete the full commercialization process (through launch and distribution) in 3 to 5 years. Still have questions? Reach out to a Power Connector to help you plan for commercialization.
The submission deadline is approaching – remember to apply for Solar Prize Round 8 by Sept. 26!
