U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
DOE Launches a Circular Economy Prize to Fortify Supply Chains for the American Sustainable Goods Economy

Phase One of Competition Will Identify Opportunities to Develop Innovations that Strengthen Communities While Ensuring Secure and Sustainable Clean Energy Practices 

Yesterday (Nov 27) the U.S. Department of Energy announced the launch of its newest clean energy prize, the Re-X Before Recycling' Prize. This three-phase prize will award a total of $4.5 million in cash prizes and $1.1 million in national laboratory analysis consultation and technical assistance to teams that develop innovative ways to extend the lifetimes of products or parts via re-using, repairing, refurbishing, remanufacturing, or repurposing ("Re-X") before recycling.  

The innovations developed through this prize will reduce life cycle energy and emissions, strengthen circular supply chains for emerging clean energy technologies, and decrease the demand for virgin materials. Innovations that enable new or expanded Re-X supply chains can also engage communities and labor, advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA), and support the implementation of the White House Justice40 initiative. In addition, this prize will further the Biden-Harris Administration's clean energy goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.  

"The historically linear model of mining materials, transforming them into manufactured goods, using those goods, and then discarding them isn't sustainable in the long term," said Jeff Marootian, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. "While recycling is an important part of the circular economy, finding ways to extend the usage of a product or part can often use less energy than recycling. That's what we're hoping to explore with this prize: how to keep products in use before they need to be recycled, and how to do so in a way that will engage communities."   

Yesterday's announcement marks the opening of the first of three phases in the Re-X Before Recycling Prize.

• Phase One: Identify! - During this phase, competitors will identify an innovation that, if implemented in a new or expanded Re-X supply chain, would deliver substantial environmental, economic, and community benefits. Applicant teams will develop a plan to advance the innovation from its current state towards implementation in a viable Re-X supply chain. 
• Phase Two: Prepare! - In phase two, competitors including new applicants, as well as teams from phase one, will refine their plan to develop their innovation and activate a network of partners and mentors to help advance their proposed innovation.  
• Phase Three: Develop! - In the final phase of this prize, selected winners from phase two will make progress executing their plans by furthering their network development and community engagement., Phase three winners will demonstrate substantial progress towards implementing their innovation in a viable Re-X supply chain and will present a compelling plan to continue their project beyond the prize period. 

Applications for phase one of this prize are due on March 12, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. EST.  
DOE anticipates selecting up to 20 winning projects in this first phase, with each award consisting of a $50,000 in cash and up to $5,000 of analysis consulting with DOE National Laboratories.  

Two informational webinars for potential applicants to this prize will be held on December 14, 2023, and on January 17, 2024, both at 1:00 p.m. EST. 

Find out more information about this prize opportunity including deadlines and how to apply.  

The Re-X Before Recycling Prize is led by DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) and managed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Visit the Re-X Before Recycling Prize page on the American-Made Challenges website for more information.