MIT Climate & Energy Prize

Benefits & funding

• More than US$100,000 in non-dilutive cash prizes per cycle; exact amounts vary with each year’s fundraising.
• 2026 awards: US$100,000 to the winning grand finalist, US$10,000 to the runner-up, US$5,000 to each regional semi-finalist.
• Mentoring between rounds from sponsors, partners and industry experts, matched to the team’s sector.
• Pitching bootcamp videos, ask-me-anything panels with past winners, networking events and value-proposition tools.
• Organisers will consider covering part of travel and lodging costs for the regional rounds and the grand final, up to a nominal amount announced each cycle.
• Track record: US$3.5 million in non-dilutive prizes awarded, 280+ startups mentored, US$1.7 billion in follow-on funding raised by alumni ventures, and 51% of alumni finalists still running their businesses.

Eligibility

• Teams of at least two people; four to five members is recommended but not required.
• At least half of the founding team must be enrolled part-time or full-time students, or postdoctoral fellows, at a college or university — any institution, anywhere in the world.
• Those qualifying members must have been enrolled since the start of the autumn term preceding the competition or earlier (Fall 2025 for the 2026 cycle).
• Open to all nationalities and countries of residence; MIT affiliation is not required.
• Only student members may deliver the pitch, though any team member may answer judges’ questions.
• The venture must be new. A project inside an existing business does not qualify.
• The startup must have raised less than US$100,000 in dilutive funding; university grants do not count as capital, while dilutive or debt funding does.
• Where the venture is already incorporated, student members must hold at least 50% of equity and voting rights.
• Incorporation is not needed to apply, but a team must be incorporated before it can receive a cash prize.
• Business plans must be the team’s original work; third-party intellectual property requires written permission before the semi-finals, and plagiarism means disqualification.
• MIT CEP Managing Directors may not compete.

Application process

1. 1
   Watch the competition site for the application form to open; the 2026–2027 form goes live in the autumn.
2. 2
   Form a team of at least two people, with students or postdocs holding at least half the founding seats.
3. 3
   Prepare a pitch deck and the IP, capital and revenue disclosure forms as a PDF; a two-minute video pitch is optional.
4. 4
   Submit the online form covering the startup and its progress, the problem, product and commercialisation plan, and each member’s background, then accept the rules and conditions of eligibility.
5. 5
   Judges assess the submissions in the virtual round and select teams to advance.
6. 6
   Advancing teams are matched with mentors, refine the plan, and pitch at a regional round. Teams with more than half their members in North, Central or South America compete near Boston; other teams compete in Europe. The 2026 cycle also ran an Asia round in Singapore.
7. 7
   Grand finalists receive further mentoring and pitch in person near Boston in mid-April.

Program timeline

1. Application deadline, 2026 cycle (form now closed)

   Jan 11, 2026

2. Asia round, Singapore

   Feb 26, 2026 to Feb 27, 2026

3. US semi-final, Boston area

   Mar 5, 2026 to Mar 6, 2026

4. Europe round, Munich

   Mar 12, 2026 to Mar 13, 2026

5. Grand final, Boston area

   Apr 16, 2026 to Apr 17, 2026

6. Autumn 2026

   2026–2027 application form opens