Team SUNSPOT (Teresa, Doug and Paul -- Vladimir had a conflict) attended the American-Made Solar Prize (AMSP) Demo Day in Somerville, Massachusetts on June 6th, 2019.
Our display included a poster as well as the second-generator DC-SUNSPOT prototype with batteries, DC-DC power supply, MPPT controller and an induction cooktop.
Although we were not among those who were awarded additional funding, it was a worthwhile experience since we got to meet and talk with so many other entrepreneurs in this space. The AMSP provided funding which allowed us to build a complete first-generation SUNSPOT(tm) system and to start development of the power electronics for the second generation system, as well as giving us room to explore future business opportunities.
Ten winners split the $1 million Set! Prize. The winners included three solar cell technologies, two advanced inverters, three PV module mounting companies, an advanced connector and a regulator which enables a customer to run a load directly from a module without a battery. More details can be found at https://americanmadechallenges.org/solarprize/round1.html.
- Crystal Sonic – Gallium Arsenide PV cells
- Tandem PV -- Perovskite + Silicon Tandem PV cells
- Solar Inventions – C3 improved solar cells
- BREK Electronics Corp – Advanced SiC inverter
- Imagen -- Advanced SiC inverter
- Phase3 Photovoltaics – PV mounting (manufactured housing)
- Catalyst – PV Mounting (plug and play)
- Omnisole – PV mounting (zero penetration)
- Solar Guardian – Advanced PV Connector
- Solar SEED – Batteryless PV module regulator
Congratulations to all the winners, and we look forward to the possibilities of future funding from competitions such as this.