1,000+ Opportunities
Find the right grant
Search federal, foundation, and corporate grants with AI — or browse by agency, topic, and state.
Spring 2025 pitch competition was May 19-22, 2025 in San Antonio, TX; Fall 2025 competition rescheduled to March 11, 2026 in Raleigh, NC.
Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) is a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Technology Commercialization program that supports energy technology startups, incubators, and accelerators through pitch competitions and cooperative agreements.
The program awards cash prizes ranging from $50,000 to $500,000 to energy innovation startups nominated by previous EPIC incubator and accelerator awardees who compete in pitch events judged by DOE and industry reviewers. EPIC Round 3 provided a $4 million competitive funding pool, including five three-year cooperative agreements to regional incubator teams.
The program is not open to general public applicants; nominations come exclusively through prior EPIC prize winners.
Get alerted about grants like this
Save a search for “U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC)” or related topics and get emailed when new opportunities appear.
Search similar grants →Extracted from the official opportunity page/RFP to help you evaluate fit faster.
Energy Program for Innovation Clusters | Department of Energy Energy Program for Innovation Clusters DOE's Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) is thrilled to offer another year of support for small business, incubators, and accelerators via EPIC in 2025. The 2025 program will consist of our highly regarded pitch competitions.
All previous EPIC incubator and accelerator awardees will be eligible to nominate an energy technology startup. Startup finalists will be selected to pitch their ideas to a panel of DOE and industry reviewers for the chance to win cash awards at a series of pitch events throughout the year. As locations and dates are finalized, pitch competition details and nomination information will be communicated to eligible EPIC Prize winners.
The Spring 2025 EPIC Pitch Competition was held at the 2025 Energy Thought Summit in San Antonio, TX from May 19-22, 2025. View the official winners' announcement here . The Fall 2025 EPIC Pitch Competition was postponed.
It was held on March 11, 2026, at TechConnect World in Raleigh, NC. The Foundation for Energy Security & Innovation (FESI) also contributed cash prizes at this pitch competition. View the official winners' announcement here .
The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC), EPIC Round 3 was a $4 million competitive funding program for the nation’s most innovative incubators supporting energy innovation clusters.
EPIC Round 3 awarded several cash prizes and five three-year cooperative agreements to regional incubator teams that submit the most creative and impactful plans, then implement those plans to develop strong programming, connections, and support for energy startups and entrepreneurs. The five projects that were awarded 3-year cooperative agreements are now in progress.
In April 2024, OTC announced the Phase 1 winners of the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Round 3. Twenty-three incubators and accelerators from across the nation were each awarded $150,000 for programs designed to support energy startups and entrepreneurs in their communities.
Applicants included traditional business accelerators and incubators, as well as innovative entrepreneurship communities and startup advocacy organizations. Read the official announcement . In December 2024, OTC announced the Phase 2 winners of the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Round 3.
Five teams were awarded the opportunity to negotiate an up to $1M 3-year cooperative agreement with DOE. Read the official announcement . December 2024 - EPIC Progress and Implementation FY21-24 This report describes the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) program progress and implementation.
This report builds off the published report to Congress in June 2022, which provided an overview of the EPIC program and plans for implementation.
This report provides an update to Congress on the EPIC program, in its third round of awards and fourth year of programming as of FY 2024, including an overview of its program structure, awardees, as well as key performance measures and select outcomes for the program’s first two rounds June 2022 - EPIC Approach During Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, Congress appropriated $5 million and tasked the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) to fund incubators that support energy technology innovation clusters.
This in turn led to OTC's development of the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC). This report presents funding activities, award status and preliminary outcomes for EPIC through 2021. Incubators and Accelerators Awarded Over $4.
5 Million from DOE to Support Clean Energy Tech Startups The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) announced five Phase 2 winners of the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Round 3. Learn More about Incubators and Accelerators Awarded Over $4.
5 Million from DOE to Support Clean Energy Tech Startups Over $100K Awarded to Clean Energy Startup Efforts in RE+ EPIC Pitch Competition at the Fall 2024 EPIC Startup Pitch Competition, three startups were named winners by the DOE Office of Technology Transitions after pitching their groundbreaking energy technologies.
Learn More about Over $100K Awarded to Clean Energy Startup Efforts in RE+ EPIC Pitch Competition Introducing the Winners of the EPIC DC Pitch Competition The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) today announced $70,000 total to three winning clean energy startups and one incubator through the 2024 Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Prize Collaboration Event.
Learn More about Introducing the Winners of the EPIC DC Pitch Competition U.S. Department of Energy Awards $2 Million to Incubators and Accelerators Shaping Regional Energy Innovation Pipeline The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) has named the grand prize winners in the American-Made Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Prize Round 2.
Four incubators were each awarded $500,000 in cash prizes. Learn More about U.S. Department of Energy Awards $2 Million to Incubators and Accelerators Shaping Regional Energy Innovation Pipeline Office of Technology Transitions Offers $4 Million in EPIC Round 3 DOE is launching a new version of its successful American-Made EPIC Prize.
The $4 million EPIC Round 3 competitive funding program will award cash prizes to the nation’s most innovative incubators supporting energy startups and entrepreneurs. Learn More about Office of Technology Transitions Offers $4 Million in EPIC Round 3 U.S. Department of Energy Awards $1.
3 Million to Incubators and Accelerators in Support of Place-Based Energy Innovation DOE has named the semifinalists in the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Prize. Twnety-four incubators and accelerators were each awarded $50,000 in cash prizes for their high-impact ideas that support energy start-ups and entrepreneurs. Learn More about U.S. Department of Energy Awards $1.
3 Million to Incubators and Accelerators in Support of Place-Based Energy Innovation Trailblazers of Clean Tech: Announcing the Winners of the Second EPIC Pitch Competition DOE has crowned five winners of the EPIC Prize Pitch Competition, awarding more than $160,000 to those with the highest-potential tech energy innovation.
Learn More about Trailblazers of Clean Tech: Announcing the Winners of the Second EPIC Pitch Competition Office of Technology Transitions Launches EPIC Prize Round 2 The Office of Technology Transitions is announcing the launch of the American-Made EPIC Prize Round 2, a $4-million competition designed to award prizes to regional incubators that implement high-impact ideas to support energy startups and entrepreneurs.
Learn More about Office of Technology Transitions Launches EPIC Prize Round 2 Department of Energy Announces Energy Incubator Prize Selections DOE announces selections for the prize portion of the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC).
Learn More about Department of Energy Announces Energy Incubator Prize Selections OTT Announces EPIC Program + Prize OTT announced a $1 million prize to stimulate regional energy innovation ecosystems. Learn More about OTT Announces EPIC Program + Prize
Scoring criteria used to review proposals for this grant.
According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Energy technology startups nominated by previous EPIC incubator and accelerator awardees; not open to general public applicants. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows $50,000 - $500,000. Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) is funded by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC). Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
Yes — this listing is flagged as national in scope, so applicants across the U.S. may apply, subject to the sponsor's other eligibility criteria.
Start from the official opportunity page linked in this listing — it carries the sponsor's submission instructions.
Energy I-Corps is sponsored by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC). Energy I-Corps is a two-month training program for national lab researchers and industry mentors. It helps researchers define technology value propositions, conduct stakeholder discovery interviews, and develop viable market pathways for their technologies, ensuring investment in national labs strengthens U.S. competitiveness.
DOE Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) is sponsored by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC). These programs are competitive non-dilutive funding programs that support American small businesses in developing innovative technologies with strong commercial potential, aligned with DOE mission areas such as energy production and use, fundamental energy science, defense nuclear nonproliferation, and environmental management.
NVIDIA Graduate Fellowship Program is a grant from NVIDIA providing up to $60,000 per award to PhD students conducting research that advances accelerated computing and its applications. Now in its 25th year, the program invites nominations from doctoral students pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous vehicles, and related fields. Recipients receive not only research funding but also access to NVIDIA technology, products, and engineering expertise, along with a mandatory in-person summer internship. Students are nominated by their faculty advisors and selected based on academic achievement and research area alignment.
NASA STRIDE (Science Transport and Robotic Innovation for Deployment and Exploration) is a grant program from NASA that solicits proposals from U.S. industry to conduct design studies of advanced robotic surface and aerial mobility systems with payload transportation and deployment capability for Mars surface operations. The program supports innovation in robotic mobility systems that could enable future Mars science missions. U.S.-based universities and nonprofit research organizations may also be eligible per the grant record. The application deadline for this cycle was March 31, 2026.
CalSEED Concept Award is a grant from the California Energy Commission that provides $150,000 in funding to early-stage clean energy innovators in California. The program targets individuals, businesses, and nonprofits developing hardware, software, or integrated solutions at Technology Readiness Levels 2-4. Eligible technology areas rotate each cycle and have included battery recycling and reuse, long-duration energy storage, medium- and heavy-duty vehicle electrification, industrial electrification, and advanced EV charging. Applicants must be located in California, have under $1 million in private funding, and propose innovations that benefit California ratepayers. Concept Award winners also receive professional development resources and access to accelerator programs, and may compete for a subsequent $450,000 Prototype Award.
The Institute of Education Sciences released its FY26 SBIR solicitations on April 30 with a single hard deadline of June 29. The triple-track structure — Phase IA for novel concepts, Phase IB for new components, and Direct-to-Phase-II for evidence-based scale-up — codifies a sharper theory of how federal dollars should move education technology from research bench to classroom.
Read articleOn May 27 NSF stood up Tech Accelerators — a new framework that funds domain-specialist organizations to invest in deep-tech teams in AgTech, MaterialsTech, OceanTech, and SciTech. The July 14 RFI is the field's only chance to shape topics, model, and selection before the first solicitation drops.
Read articleUSDA-FNS posted $5 million for SNAP Process and Technology Improvement Grants with a June 29 deadline — but a two-year exclusion of prior winners has cleared the field for state agencies and nonprofits that have never won. Here is the strategic landscape, the three priority lanes, and why the partnership letter is the silent gatekeeper.
Read article