Please read all of the application requirements before completing each section. All applications must be submitted in English with the exception of Your Quick Pitch video; if your video is in a language other than English, then it must contain English subtitles. Your name and Quick Pitch video may be published on this website; the remainder of your application will only be viewed by administrators and judges.

By submitting a valid application, your submission will be subject to an Administrative Review to determine your eligibility and may be subjected to an assessment from five of our Evaluation Panel members.

Be sure to review your application as the judges will see it and confirm your changes have been saved. When you have completed all of the requirements, a message will be displayed on the screen. At that point, you can submit your final application. Once you have submitted the application, you will no longer be able to make changes.

You must submit your application no later than Wednesday, April 1, 2020 at 5:00 PM GMT.

A. YOUR QUALIFICATIONS

YOUR CURRICULUM VITAE (Upload)

Please upload a brief account of your education and previous experience as a clean energy innovator, such as information that you would typically offer during a job application.

Please check this box to certify the following statement:

• I hereby affirm that the information contained in my Curriculum Vitae is truthful, accurate, and indicative of my professional and personal experience. I understand that overstating any qualifications is grounds for elimination of my application. I further understand that – if selected as a Finalist candidate – I may be asked to produce evidence of any claims made in my Curriculum Vitae and will assume the responsibility of promptly responding to any inquiries regarding my qualifications.

YOUR STORY (500 words)

Provide a narrative description of your personal and professional experience as a clean energy innovator. Express your passion and commitment to your work. Explain why you have chosen to focus your career on clean energy and offer examples of your most successful research and development accomplishments. What makes you uniquely qualified to be a Mission Innovation Champion?

YOUR QUICK PITCH VIDEO

You will not have an opportunity to meet our judges. So, this is your chance to make a personal connection by recording a video of yourself. Emphasize those elements of YOUR STORY which embody your commitment to clean energy and which underscore your specific experience as an innovator.

You will upload a short digital film using YouTube. Set the Privacy Settings on your video to Public or Unlisted; do not set them to Private. (NOTE: If you reside in a country where you are unable to access YouTube, please contact us at questions@michampions.net for assistance.) Your video may be extracted from your submission and made available to the public. Please appeal to a broad audience. Video submissions must follow these guidelines:

• A length of 90 seconds.
• You should be the only person present in the video.
• Focus on providing a personal connection; it is not necessary to produce a sophisticated video.
• Your pitch must be in English or contain English subtitles.

Here are general suggestions for delivering a high-quality video pitch:

• Introduce yourself.
• What successes have you had in clean energy innovation?
• What is unique about your accomplishments?
• What are your plans for the future?
• If named a Mission Innovation Champion, how will you use this recognition to further the goals of Mission Innovation? 

Hone your content:

• Keep your description and language simple.
• Demonstrate passion through your words and enthusiasm.
• Practice numerous times before recording your video pitch.
• Take time to edit your video and seek feedback from others.

Paste the full YouTube URL in the box below.

Upload your video to www.youtube.com. Make sure to set the Privacy Settings on your video to Public or Unlisted; do not set them to Private. When done, copy the video URL into the box below and click the Upload button.

B. YOUR WORK

You are asked to describe the work that you do, how it aligns with our Mission Innovation agenda, and how it illustrates your commitment to making a meaningful impression on the clean energy sector.

YOUR FOCUS AREA

Please select the primary area of focus of your work from an area of interest from our Mission Innovation list of Innovation Challenges (select one):

• Smart Grids Innovation Challenge – to enable future grids that are powered by affordable, reliable, decentralized renewable electricity systems.
• Off-Grid Access to Electricity Innovation Challenge – to develop systems that enable off-grid households and communities to access affordable and reliable renewable electricity.
• Carbon Capture Innovation Challenge – to enable near-zero CO2 emissions from power plants and carbon intensive industries.
• Sustainable Biofuels Innovation Challenge – to develop ways to produce, at scale, widely affordable, advanced biofuels for transportation and industrial applications.
• Converting Sunlight Innovation Challenge – to discover affordable ways to convert sunlight into storable solar fuels.
• Clean Energy Materials Innovation Challenge – to accelerate the exploration, discovery, and use of new high-performance, low-cost clean energy materials.
• Affordable Heating and Cooling of Buildings Innovation Challenge – to make low-carbon heating and cooling affordable for everyone.
• Hydrogen Innovation Challenge – accelerate the development of a global hydrogen market by identifying and overcoming key technology barriers to the production, distribution, storage, and use of hydrogen at gigawatt scale.
• OTHER: Your particular field might fit another clean energy research and development area, please describe which one.

GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS (100 words)

While we know that research and development efforts do not always fit neatly within a location or region or country, we ask that you describe where your research and development efforts currently take place. If your geographic reach extends beyond a single country or region, please explain. If it is specific to a geographic location, name your geographic focus and explain why you chose the place(s).

IMPACT TO DATE (250 words)

Please describe the quantifiable impact you have achieved to date in reinvigorating and accelerating clean energy innovation. How have these efforts helped make clean energy more affordable? Please detail any successes, partnerships, deliverables, or key milestones that are indicators of positive impact.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE (150 words)

If you are named a Mission Innovation Champion representing your country, how will you use this recognition to further the goals of Mission Innovation?