Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize

Eligible Applicants

Additional Requirements

To win the Breakthrough contest, participants must comply with the following eligibility requirements. By uploading a submission package, a participant certifies that they comply with the eligibility requirements below. As soon as the Prize Administrator becomes aware that a participant is not eligible to win the Phase III contest, the participant may be disqualified. • Breakthrough participants must be a team led by a legal business entity formed under state law or the laws of the United States, such as a corporation or other organization that maintains a primary place of business in the United States with majority domestic ownership and control. If a private entity seeking to compete does not have domestic ownership and control, DOE may consider issuing a waiver of this requirement. Entities seeking a waiver should include a justification along with their submission. DOE may require additional information before making a determination on the waiver request. There are no rights to appeal DOE’s decision on the waiver request. See Appendix: Additional Terms and Conditions for details and instructions on seeking a waiver. • DOE employees and DOE support service contractors, individuals who have been employed by DOE, or individuals working for DOE as a support service contractor within 6 months prior to the submission deadline of the Breakthrough contest are not eligible to participate in any prize contests in this program. • NREL employees directly involved in the administration of the prize are not eligible to participate in any prize contest in this program. Receipt of voucher funds is not considered participation in this prize program. Page 19 of 26 • NREL employees not involved in the administration of the prize and all other national lab employees, including laboratory researchers, may participate as private individuals, provided they do not use their facilities at the national laboratories. • Non-DOE federal entities and federal employees are also not eligible to win any prize contests in this program. • Federal grantees may not use federal funds to develop submissions. • Federal contractors may not use federal funds from a contract to develop prize competition submissions or fund efforts in support of a prize competition submission. • A participating entity shall not be deemed ineligible because the entity used federal facilities or consulted with federal employees during a competition if the facilities and employees are made available to all entities participating in the competition on an equitable basis. • Evaluation Entities are ineligible to compete as prize participants. • Individuals participating in a foreign government talent recruitment program7 sponsored by a country of risk8 and teams that include such individuals are not eligible to compete. • Entities owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a government of a country of risk. • Entities and individuals publicly banned from doing business with the U.S. government, such as entities and individuals debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participating in Federal programs, are not eligible to compete. DOE may conduct a risk review, through Government resources, of the competitor and project personnel to identify potential risks of foreign interference. The result(s) of a risk review may supersede the results of the prize competition, preventing DOE from selecting a submission or reversing a selection of a submission for a prize. The results of a risk review are not appealable.

Geographic Eligibility

All