Clean-energy contest seeks state students, researchers

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Students and researchers across Indiana universities are being asked to enter a Department of Energy (DOE) competition that’s seeking the nation’s top business plans based on clean energy technologies.

It’s a $300,000 national competition sponsored by the DOE called the 2013 Clean Energy Challenge. It recognizes early-stage entrepreneurs with creative clean technology business concepts.

To participate in the national section of the competition teams must win at state and regional levels.

Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization project manager Jon Gortat says you can enter the state-level contest through Monday, Dec. 3.

"Teams can include faculty, post-docs and students, as long as at least half of the team members are students," Gortat said. "This means researchers who are developing or have even patented clean energy technologies can enter the contest."

During last year’s state-level competition, there were entries from Purdue, Indiana University, Notre Dame, and IUPUI-Fort Wayne.

But Gortat says the challenge is seeking an increased number of entries for this season. The team that wins the state competition this year will get $10,000 along with qualifying for the regional competition.

If you work in the following field of research, you’re right for this competition: energy storage, hydrogen and fuel cells, geothermal, bioenergy, solar technologies, wind energy, water-energy nexus, energy efficiency, building materials, energy management, smart-grid technology, next-generation transportation and manufacturing efficiency.

Entries should include an executive summary and a three-minute video pitch. You can submit that to the website for the contest.

The state contest winner will be paired up with mentors in the clean energy field to work on their full business plan.

You can learn more about applying by contacting Gortat via email or phone at (765) 588-3485.