Rice Alliance to host 2018 DOE Cleantech University Prize National Competition

$135,000 in prizes to be awarded

The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship is hosting the 2018 Department of Energy (DOE) Cleantech University Prize National Competition June 28 at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business.

Twenty-two winning teams from eight regional DOE competitions held earlier this year will present their business plans to nearly 100 judges hailing from the energy, clean-tech and investment sectors. The teams, consisting of students from some of the top universities in the United States, will compete for $135,000 in prizes sponsored by the DOE.

An additional $35,000 prize from the Department of Defense will be awarded to the best clean-tech startup in operational energy for defense applications, as judged by representatives from the department.

Attendance is free and open to the public, but registration by June 23 is required at https://ricemba.wufoo.com/forms/2018-doe-cleantech-up-attendee-registration.

The DOE’s Cleantech University Prize aims to inspire and equip the next generation of clean-energy entrepreneurs and innovators by providing competitive funding for business development, commercialization training and other educational opportunities. At the regional and national competitions, teams go through detailed training in due diligence and leveraging resources in addition to pitching their companies to investors, which helps students develop skills to move their technologies from the discovery phase to the marketplace.

The Jones School is located in McNair Hall on the Rice campus, 6100 Main St. Paid parking is available in the garage under McNair Hall. For a campus map, go to maps.rice.edu.

2018 DOE Cleantech University Prize competing teams

Team                                                      University

For more information on the competition, visit http://www.cleantechup.org.

The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship is Rice’s nationally recognized initiative devoted to the support of technology commercialization, entrepreneurship education and the launch of technology companies. Since its inception, more than 2,200 early stage companies have participated in the 185 programs hosted by the alliance and raised nearly $6 billion in funding.