Several teams featuring current MIT Sloan students are included among the semifinalists of the seventh annual MIT Clean Energy Prize competition. The MIT Clean Energy Prize is open to graduate and undergraduate students enrolled at least half-time at any university in the United States. It is a student-organized business plan competition where teams can submit their own clean energy or technology ideas into one of three categories: Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, or Infrastructure & Resources. Over a period of several months, the teams are mentored and critiqued by panels of venture capitalists, CEOs, lawyers, and academics.
This year, more than 60 teams from 24 universities across the United States competed in the MIT Clean Energy Prize. Following the first round of judging, 21 teams were invited to enter the semifinal round of the competition. These teams will receive mentoring, a $1,000 stipend, and access to MIT Clean Energy Prize resources such as partnerships with startup accelerators and a wide network of clean energy experts.
On April 27, a panel of expert judges will then review the plans. The top two teams in each category will move on to the finals on April 28 at the Sheraton Boston, when the six teams will compete for the $125,000 MIT NSTAR Clean Energy Prize and the $100,000 U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clean Energy Prize. Three track winners will each receive $25,000.
The MIT Clean Energy Prize, conceived by the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Massachusetts-based utility NSTAR Electric, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, the law firm Morrison & Foerster, GE Ventures, and global energy group GDF Suez.
