Research

UK serves as regional host for DOE student business plan competition, register now

Photo provided by EnergyTech UP, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Technology Transitions.
Photo provided by EnergyTech UP, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Technology Transitions.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 18, 2024) — The University of Kentucky has been selected to serve as a regional convenor for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) national EnergyTech University Prize competition.

Sponsored by DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions (OTT), the EnergyTech University Prize (EnergyTech UP) is a collegiate competition challenging multidisciplinary student teams to develop and present a business plan that leverages laboratory-developed and other high-potential energy technologies.

In the 2024 competition, student teams will compete for more than $400,000 in cash prizes for successfully identifying a promising energy technology, assessing its market potential, and creating a business plan for commercialization.

Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to compete. Throughout the competition, students will receive mentorship and materials to help them succeed.

OTT will host its final information webinar about this event on Tuesday, Jan. 23. Register for the webinar online here: https://bit.ly/48IkCnc.

Interested teams must submit a 200-word summary of their chosen energy technology and the business opportunity, along with an initial slide deck by Thursday, Feb. 1.

Competitor teams first present at their designated regional events in February, where regional finalists are identified.

UK will be serving as a regional convener and will host its competition online on Wednesday, Feb. 28. 

You can learn more about the EnergyTech UP competition online here.

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.