SunShot Incubator Program - formerly PV Technology Incubator

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is issuing a Solicitation for Letters of Interest (LOIs) to U.S. Small Businesses for the SunShot Incubator Program. The Department of Energy‘s (DOE) SunShot Initiative aims to significantly reduce solar energy costs by 75% before the end of the decade, making solar energy cost-competitive with conventional forms of electricity without subsidies and enabling widespread deployment of solar energy. The SunShot Incubator Program is an expansion of DOE's successful Photovoltaic (PV) Technology Incubator Program that will allow for accelerated investment in a broader base of transformational technologies that will dramatically drive down the cost of solar energy as a part of the SunShot Initiative. Given the new SunShot Initiative goals, the current program has now expanded to include concentrating solar power (CSP), power electronics, and balance of systems (BOS) innovations. The SunShot Incubator Program represents a significant component of the DOE business strategy of partnering with U.S. industry to accelerate commercialization of PV, CSP, and BOS research and development (R&D) and validation to meet aggressive installed cost and market penetration goals. This rigorous program specifically aims to provide early-stage assistance to help cutting edge technologies overcome technological and market barriers and achieve commercialization in the United States. This specific partnership leverages technical capabilities and resources within the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and other DOE laboratories/facilities to enhance and support areas of expertise within a small business in order to accelerate the development of the Responder's technology toward full-scale manufacturing in the United States. The Solicitation for LOIs will be released shortly and shall be available to view/download from NREL's website at http://www.nrel.gov/business_opportunities/solicitations_rfps.html