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# DOE’s $500,000 storage prize targets manufacturing problems at the design stage
- URL: https://pvweekly.com/doe-storage-step-prize/
- Published: 2026-10-27T19:29:59.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-27T19:29:59.000Z
- Description: 2026 archive · The 2026 STEP competition asked developers to consider sourcing and production before committing to a grid-storage design; its first application deadline passed October 8.
- Author: PV Weekly Editorial
- Tags: Research & Opportunities, Archive 2026, #ledger-format, #archive-backfill-20261027

**2026 archive** · July 7, 2026Reporting prepared October 22, 2026\. This retrospective describes events and expectations from the period covered.For current eligibility and deadlines, consult the latest agency notice.[Browse the archive](https://pvweekly.com/archive/)

The Department of Energy’s 2026 Storage Design Strategies to Ease Production Prize put an early question to grid-storage developers: can the design be manufactured with materials and processes a supplier can reliably provide?

Launched July 7, the $500,000 STEP competition focused on emerging stationary and grid-scale technologies. DOE sought approaches that would address production and sourcing obstacles early enough to avoid expensive redesigns.

The two-phase structure separated an initial idea from further development. Phase 1 offered up to three $20,000 champion prizes and nine $10,000 finalist prizes. Phase 2 offered up to two $100,000 champion awards and three $50,000 finalist awards.

Individuals, startups, small businesses and academic institutions were among the invited participants, subject to the competition’s eligibility rules. The funding was a prize pool spread across selected entrants, not a factory-construction grant for each applicant.

Phase 1 closed October 8, 2026\. The historical opportunity was to test a manufacturing solution while a storage technology was still taking shape, before difficult sourcing or production choices became fixed in the design.

## Sources

- [DOE’s Office of Electricity Launches Prize to Advance Production-Ready, Next-Gen Energy Storage](https://www.energy.gov/oe/articles/does-office-electricity-launches-prize-advance-production-ready-next-gen-energy-storage?ref=pvweekly.com) — U.S. Department of Energy · 2026-07-07.