Patents for Humanity: Green Energy

patents for humanity clean energy awards competition art showing solar, hydro, and water power and biofuel

Inspiring inventors to develop green energy technologies

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has expanded the Patents for Humanity Awards Program to include a new category for those who are responding rapidly to the challenges of climate change by developing green energy sources using game-changing technologies. This new award category provides business incentives for patent applicants, holders, and licensees whose inventions address climate change through green energy technologies, including through wind, solar, green hydrogen, hydropower, geothermal, and biofuel technologies. Their success stories will inspire others to harness innovation for human progress.

Award

The USPTO will host a combined ceremony to recognize Patents for Humanity: Green Energy and Trademarks for Humanity award winners on December 3, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. ET.

In addition to public recognition of their work, winners will receive public recognition at an awards ceremony sponsored by the USPTO and a certificate that grants them accelerated USPTO processing for one eligible matter. Winners may also transfer their acceleration certificate to a third party for consideration.

All innovations related to the designated green energy technologies are eligible. Any U.S. patent or patent application that is directed to green energy technologies is eligible for this award, including in the areas of wind, solar, green hydrogen, hydropower, geothermal, and biofuel technologies. Please note that this new award cycle will only be for applications related to green energy technologies. For more information about past programs, please see the Patents For Humanity webpage.

Patents for Humanity: Green Energy application cycle is closed

Applications

Eligibility

This program is focused on green energy production technologies that are the subject of a U.S. utility patent or pending U.S. utility patent. All technologies addressing green energy—including wind, solar, green hydrogen, hydropower, geothermal, and biofuels technologies—may be the subject of an application to this program. The program is open to all types of patent holders, patent applicants, and licensees.

Competition criteria

To apply, you will be asked to describe how your technology is providing an environmental benefit by making energy renewable, sustainable, cleaner, or greener. You will also be asked to tell the story of your invention and to include any data that shows the effectiveness of your technology. You may include additional information for consideration, such as a short video and/or published academic articles.

You will be evaluated on several different criteria:

Subject matter: Your technology, which is claimed in a U.S. utility patent in force at the time, or a pending U.S. utility patent application, effectively addresses climate change by providing an environmental benefit and is making energy renewable, sustainable, cleaner, or greener.
Commercialization: You took or are taking meaningful actions to make the technology available to the marketplace. If the technology is not yet in the marketplace, you have shown relevant data about potential impact on the marketplace. This only includes actions taken by you.
Impact: Deployment of your technology has or will benefit the environment by making energy renewable, sustainable, cleaner, or greener. This includes downstream actions by third parties building on your contributions.

You are encouraged to include any actual or projected data to support your application. Judges will consider the size of the company when evaluating all of the above criteria. For example, small and micro entities will not be expected to have the same impact as larger companies.

Acceleration certificate

The certificate that Patents for Humanity Award recipients receive allows them to accelerate one of the following matters before the USPTO:

A patent application
Ex parte reexam
Ex parte appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Inter partes matters and other post-grant proceedings may not be accelerated at this time.

Small Business Award

Small and micro entities can elect to compete only among other small businesses. Judges will consider the size of the applicant’s organization when considering the judging criteria enumerated above. To be eligible for the Small Business Award, the applicant must be a small entity as defined in 37 C.F.R. § 1.27 or a micro entity as defined in 37 C.F.R. § 1.29. The award is the same as described above.

Terms and conditions

Read the complete terms and conditions for the 2023 Patents for Humanity: Green Energy awards program.