ConocoPhillips and Penn State opened the 2009 ConocoPhillips Energy Prize competition Monday, looking for ideas that can help solve the current environmental issues facing the country.
The competition will award innovative concepts capable of improving the nation's energy usage, according to a press release. The concept can focus on fighting the climate crisis, creating new sources for energy or increasing energy efficiency, said Andrea Ferdinand, representative for communications at ConocoPhillips.
Awards can be as high as $300,000, according to the release.
Any U.S. citizen 18 years of age or older and not affiliated with ConocoPhillips or its partners, including Penn State, can enter the competition, Ferdinand said.
Ideas can be submitted through May 1 and can be up to 2,000 words, Ferdinand said, adding that graphs, diagrams and other accompaniments may be included.
A panel of five judges critiques the entries in creativity, scalability, commercial viability and sustainability, said Chunshan Song, Penn State director of the EMS Energy Institute and professor of fuel science and chemical engineering.
Last year's competition received more than 300 entries, Song said.
ConocoPhillips is partners with the Penn State EMS Energy Institute, Ferdinand said.
"We have great researchers inside our company," Ferdinand said.
Ferdinand said ConocoPhillips partnered with Penn State because the university possesses "a commitment to developing clean, efficient energy technologies" that can aid in reaching the country's energy needs, adding the goals of the Penn State EMS Energy Institute are equal to those of ConocoPhillips.
