Student Competitions

International Future Energy Challenge 

The International Future Energy Challenge is an international student competition for innovation, conservation, and effective use of electrical energy. The competition is open to college and university student teams from recognized engineering programs in any location. Participation is on a proposal basis.

In 2001, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in partnership with the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the U. S. Department of Defense (DOD), and other sponsors, organized the first Future Energy Challenge competition. The objective was to build prototype, low-cost inverters to support fuel cell power systems. This competition was originally open to schools in North America with accredited engineering programs. The 2001 Future Energy Challenge focused on the emerging field of distributed electricity generation systems, seeking to dramatically improve the design and reduce the cost of dc-ac inverters and interface systems for use in distributed generation systems. The objectives were to design elegant, manufacturable systems that would reduce the costs of commercial interface systems by at least 50% and, thereby, accelerate the deployment of distributed generation systems in homes and buildings. Final events were conducted at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Morgantown, WV, USA. Speakers from IEEE, DOE, and DOD introduced the competition and interacted with students during the event week. Hardware was tested with an experimental fuel cell at the NETL site. The 2001 Challenge was a success, and represented the first in a biannual series of energy-based student team design competitions.

Join IEEEtv for an inside look at the International Future Energy Challenge 2015. 

For more information, please see the International Future Energy website: http://www.energychallenge.org/