The Department of Energy’s American-Made Program is running the Storage Design Strategies to Ease Production (STEP) Prize, a $500,000 two-phase competition for novel energy storage technologies that build manufacturability and supply chain resilience into the design from the start.

Phase 1 asks competitors to identify and conceptualize solutions to anticipated production challenges in their storage design; Phase 1 winners advance to Phase 2, where they further develop and validate those solutions.

The prize is open to individuals, academic institutions, nonfederal government entities, small businesses, start-ups, and entrepreneurs working on nascent or emerging energy storage innovations. Submissions are due October 8, 2026. To review the rules and enter, click on the link here.