Letters of Interest_American-Made Challenges Program Support: Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Power Connector

Introduction The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) provides funding support for a range of programs that incentivize the development and advancement of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. One of these programs, the American Made Challenges (AMC) program which is administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), was launched in 2018 to support and encourage innovators to create and deploy innovative solutions to advance U.S. leadership in the energy industry. Other DOE programs that may identify and select organizations to support multiple initiatives include, but are not limited to, the American-Made Challenges, the American-Made Network, DOE/EERE Funding Opportunity Announcements, SBIR/STTR, TCF, and other commercialization programs. These programs are seeking to improve the number and diversity of applicants to create a more equitable program inclusive of disadvantaged, underrepresented and underserved communities, attract additional sponsors or supporters for the program, and improve the market readiness of teams and technologies in innovative programs. The AMC program alone now includes representation from 10+ offices within DOE across 25 prizes with more than $100M in cash prizes and in-kind support already awarded. Because of this quick growth NREL is seeking to supplement the existing resources within the American-Made Network to build new capabilities and support the incoming competitors who need additional training and mentorship to successfully compete in the prizes or other DOE funding opportunities. Additional support may be needed for other DOE/EERE innovative programs in the future. The AMC program is supported by an ecosystem of national laboratories and industry experts including accelerators, energy incubators, and other resources, forging more than 600 connections to date with prize teams. As “America’s Energy Innovation Engine”, this network seeks to provide training, connections, teaming, mentoring, and more, helping to recruit and upskill new innovators and entrepreneurs to the clean energy revolution. NREL is seeking new organizations to join the AMC program and play a strategic role in providing some of the identified support gaps for competitors within AMC and other related DOE innovation programs to amplify the impact of these programs to a diverse range of stakeholders. The organizations selected will labeled “Power Connectors,” and they will be engaged on individual prizes and other DOE/EERE programming as appropriate. Power Connectors are integrally involved with prize program execution, recruitment, and support. These organizations are contracted yearly to perform a variety of tasks for specific prizes that advance program successes, extend the reach to improve the diversity and inclusivity of the Network overall. Power Connectors also could assist with other innovative DOE programs based on new, and existing, program needs.