2024 Geothermal Collegiate Competition Kicks Off With 33 Teams
 Twenty-six collegiate institutions are participating in the 2024 Geothermal Collegiate Competition across two tracks—Policy (purple), Technical (pink), and both (black).
Thirty-three teams from 26 U.S. collegiate institutions are competing in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) 2024 Geothermal Collegiate Competition, which offers the opportunity to design real-world geothermal solutions for a chance at $38,000 in prize funding.
Check out the interactive map to see which schools are competing!
This year's challenge, now part of the American-Made collection of prizes and competitions, features two tracks:
- Twenty-two teams are registered for the Technical Track, in which teams will design a geothermal heating and cooling system from the ground up for a proposed community of their choosing.
- Eleven teams are registered in the Policy Track, where teams will conduct an analysis of the regulatory environment and economic feasibility for a proposed geothermal system.
- First-place teams in each track will receive $10,000, second-place teams will earn $6,000, and third-place teams $2,000. Teams with the best video and informative graphic will receive honorable mentions.
"We are so excited for the variety of schools in this year's competition, and we can't wait to see what the teams in both tracks come up with to advance geothermal at the community level," said Elisabet Metcalfe, communications and stakeholder engagement lead at the DOE Geothermal Technologies Office.
Nineteen teams also took advantage of the option to be paired with a volunteer mentor to gain valuable connections and professional advice on their projects.
Teams will submit final deliverables, including stakeholder engagement plans for both tracks, in December, and winner announcements are expected in February 2025. DOE will provide additional funding to the first-place team from each track to host stakeholder events in their project communities.
The Geothermal Technologies Office has funded the Geothermal Collegiate Competition for more than 10 years, supporting workforce development and giving students a chance to gain resume experience in the geothermal industry while still in school.
Want to be part of next year's competition as a team or a mentor? Sign up for updates through the Geothermal Collegiate Competition website.
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