Team SUNSPOT™ is proud to announce that we have been selected as one of twenty “semi-finalists” in the American-Made Solar Prize competition. The Solar Prize is a $3 million prize competition designed to revitalize U.S. solar manufacturing through a series of contests and the development of a diverse and powerful support network that leverages national laboratories, energy incubators, and other resources across the country. The American-Made Solar Prize is directed and administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO). Learn more.
SUNSPOT™ will be using this funding to further advance the development of solar-electric cooking, specifically by doing a “proof-of-concept” design for an induction cooktop that can run directly from a 24V battery without the need for an inverter. This will help improve efficiency and reliability while reducing the system cost. We will also be working with an international microgrid company to do a consumer survey to help better understand cooking needs in rural areas. We will be presenting the results of this phase on June 6th at “Ready! Demo Day” at Greentown Labs in Somerville, Massachusetts where we will be competing for the next round of funding in this prize competition. Stay tuned for details.