The U.S. Department of Energy on September 30, 2024, named three winners of the Manufacture of Advanced Key Energy Infrastructure Technologies (MAKE IT) Prize Facilities Track, awarding $5 million each to Stryten Energy of Augusta, Ga.; Switched Source, LLC of Chicago, Ill.; and Urban Electric Power of Kingston, N.Y. The total payout across the three winners is $15 million. DOE also announced a new $30 million Round 2 of the MAKE IT Prize, with competition rules and the opening of that round intended for fall 2024.
What it means
The three winning companies will use the prize funds to build or expand domestic manufacturing facilities in currently underutilized spaces in disadvantaged communities. DOE said the prize dollars will leverage more than $100 million of economic activity directly related to construction of the three facilities, and that more than 250 jobs will be created to build and operate them. Stryten Energy plans to repurpose a shuttered facility in Augusta as a high-volume continuous reactor vanadium electrolyte production facility. Switched Source aims to expand from a 5,000-square-foot low-volume facility to a roughly 20,000-square-foot manufacturing, high-power testing, and warehouse facility in Chicago, targeting production of more than 250 Phase-EQ hybrid transformer units per year by the end of 2027. Urban Electric Power plans to build and operate a rechargeable zinc-manganese dioxide battery plant in Kingston producing battery energy storage systems for long duration energy storage applications. Across the three facilities, DOE said the companies will build more than 250 hybrid inverters per year and deploy more than 300 MWh per year of long duration energy storage.
The Facilities Track was made possible by DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions and Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, with the prize developed jointly with the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. It is funded through the Technology Commercialization Fund under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and administered through the American-Made program. One additional Phase 2 Facilities Track award remains available for remaining Phase 1 winners, with a submission deadline of November 5, 2024, and further deadlines in February and May 2025 if funding is available. The MAKE IT Strategies Track Round 1 and Round 2 are both active, with both rounds submitting materials for review by November 1, 2024, and winner announcements anticipated in December.
Key facts
- $15 million total awarded to three MAKE IT Prize Facilities Track Phase 2 winners
- $5 million received by each winner throughout the prize (according to DOE)
- $30 million available in MAKE IT Prize Round 2, intended to open fall 2024
- $100 million+ in economic activity projected from construction of the three facilities (according to DOE)
- 250+ jobs to be created to build and operate the three facilities (according to DOE)
- 250+ hybrid inverters per year to be produced across the three companies (according to DOE)
- 300 MWh/year of long duration energy storage to be deployed across the three companies (according to DOE)
- Winners: Stryten Energy, Augusta, Ga.; Switched Source, LLC, Chicago, Ill.; Urban Electric Power, Kingston, N.Y.
- Switched Source facility expansion: from 5,000 sq ft to approximately 20,000 sq ft; target of 250+ Phase-EQ units/year by end of 2027
- Next Facilities Track Phase 2 submission deadline: November 5, 2024
- Prize funded by the Technology Commercialization Fund through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law; administered through the American-Made program
Source: U.S. Department of Energy news release (energy.gov)