The U.S. Department of Energy has announced six regional winners of its National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition. The competition is for university teams across the country to create new businesses and commercialize promising energy technologies developed at U.S. universities and the National Laboratories. Regional finalists include: Northwestern University, North Carolina A&T University, Purdue University, Brigham Young University, University of Arkansas, and University of California-Berkeley. The teams will compete in the national competition in Washington, D.C., on June 11th and 12th, 2013.

“The National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition allows the best and brightest to use their entrepreneurial skills to tackle the energy challenges our Nation continues to face,” said Acting Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman. “These innovative business strategies can expand the use of clean energy technologies and compete on a global market.”

According to DOE, the national competition aims to promote entrepreneurship in clean energy technologies that will boost American competitiveness, bring cutting-edge clean energy solutions to the market, and strengthen economic prosperity. Six regional organizations have received a total of $2 million over three years to host the competitions, including $100,000 in annual prizes for each regional competition’s winning team. At the National Competition, regional finalists will compete for cash prizes, and unique technical, design, public relations, and legal assistance to help commercialize their technology.