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The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office is funding the American-Made Challenges: Perovskite Startup Prize, a two-stage, $3 million prize competition designed to accelerate the development and manufacturing of perovskite solar cells by moving world-class research out of the lab and into new U.S. companies.

Competitors who advance from the first stage to the second will receive a $200,000 cash prize. The winners of the second stage will receive $500,000 in cash — a combined total of $700,000 — plus $100,000 in technical support vouchers for launching a viable solar manufacturing company with the potential to introduce marketable perovskite products in the United States.

By soliciting the talents and innovative spirit of diverse American entrepreneurs, the Perovskite Startup Prize will advance this promising technology and help increase opportunities for U.S. manufacturers.

The prize was announced on March 25, 2021. Applicants must build teams and form for-profit U.S. companies whose date of incorporation is on or after October 16, 2020. Individuals and nonprofits are not eligible to compete.

Overview

The first stage of the competition is the Countdown Contest. To enter, participants must assemble a team of strong technical and business experts and then submit plans for a viable perovskite solar business with quantifiable goals. During the contest, teams can leverage the American-Made Network — consisting of national laboratories, investors, industry experts, and more — for resources, connections, and technical support. Teams selected to advance to the next stage of the competition will receive $200,000 in cash.

The second and final stage of the competition is the Liftoff Contest. Competitors will complete the objectives in the plan evaluated during the Countdown Contest, obtain third-party validation of their perovskite solar cells and modules, and solidify the network that will help them launch their business.

Timeline

  • The Countdown Contest opened on March 25, 2021. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis; applicants will have quarterly opportunities to apply.
  • The first Countdown Contest application period closed June 30, 2021.
  • The second Countdown Contest opened July 21, 2021, and closes September 30, 2021.
  • If there are Countdown Contest winners, the Liftoff Contest is expected to open in October 2021.

Learn More

The Perovskite Startup Prize is part of the American-Made Challenges and is administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Courtesy of DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office.

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Hyundai is testing an interesting-looking new EV [Video]

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2 hours ago

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December 1, 2025

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Hyundai is testing an interesting-looking new EV [Video]

Hyundai-testing-new-Crater-EV

Is this our first look at the Hyundai Crater in action? A new Hyundai EV was spotted testing with a unique design.

Is Hyundai testing a new off-road EV?

Hyundai is at it again. At the LA Auto Show last month, Hyundai unveiled the Crater Concept, a compact off-road electric SUV.

According to Hyundai, the Crater Concept “explores the next evolution” of its extreme-rugged-terrain (XRT) design, sharing design elements with other XRT models, like the IONIQ 5 XRT and Palisade XRT Pro.

Hyundai designed the compact SUV with one clear goal in mind: to create a rugged, capable vehicle that can go anywhere. Hyundai’s design team in Irvine, California, crafted it as the company pushes further into off-road, extreme vehicles.

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Hyundai’s design team added wide skid plates, 33″ off-road tires, tow hooks, limb risers, rocker panels, and a roof platform to give it a truly rugged, go-anywhere attitude.

Although Hyundai has yet to confirm it, the Crater is expected to come to life as a production model. A test car based on the Hyundai Kona was spotted driving in Korea, believed to be an early Crater test mule.

Hyundai-testing-new-Crater-EV
The Hyundai Crater Concept, a compact off-road electric SUV (Source: Hyundai)

The video from our friends at Healer TV shows the vehicle with a unique device mounted on the back, a raised suspension, new wheels, added tow hooks, and a light on the side.

With features similar to those of the Kia EV9 and Genesis GV70 test mules, the reporter believes “there’s a very good chance” the vehicle is an early Hyundai Crater test car.

From the back, you can clearly see the vehicle’s higher ground clearance, and it also has a towing device installed. The test mule does have mufflers, but many automakers, including Hyundai, test new vehicles with fake mufflers and other disguises to hide the design from the public.

Is this our first look at the Hyundai Crater in real life? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. We’ll likely find out more info soon. Check back for updates.


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Up to $13,289 exclusive savings on DELTA Pro Ultra X power station + 18 other offers, MOD e-bike Cyber Monday sale, Lectric, more

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4 hours ago

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December 1, 2025

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Up to ,289 exclusive savings on DELTA Pro Ultra X power station + 18 other offers, MOD e-bike Cyber Monday sale, Lectric, more


Thanksgiving may be over, but that just means we’re moving into Cyber Monday savings! Today’s Green Deals are jam-packed with power station and e-bike savings, in particular, led by EcoFlow’s latest DELTA Pro Ultra X Portable Whole-Home Backup Power Station (as well as 18 additional series offers) with up to $13,289 exclusive savings to new low prices starting from $174 – plus, EcoFlow’s DELTA Pro Ultra solar bundle and the brand’s latest flash sale. From there, we have a rare sale from MOD Bikes, with the Easy 3 Cruiser e-bike back at a $2,199 low, among others, as well as Lectric’s Cyber Monday Sale, and new low prices on units from Anker SOLIX, Jackery, an EGO Multi-Head combo, and much more waiting for you below. And don’t forget about the hangover deals from last week alongside the latest deals from this week that are collected together in our Black Friday/Cyber Monday Green Deals hub, which we will continue to update through the rest of the week.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

Score up to $13,289 exclusive Cyber Monday savings on EcoFlow’s DELTA Pro Ultra X power station + bundles, more from $174

For Cyber Monday, we’ve secured a very special exclusive code from Wellbots that saves our readers an additional 10% on a large selection of offers on EcoFlow’s latest (and largest) backup power solution, with the DELTA Pro Ultra X Portable Power Station (1x inverter + 2x batteries) for $7,199.10 shipped, after using the exclusive code 9TO5CMDPUX at checkout. This is the latest release from the brand, having opened for pre-sale discounts mid-October and officially hitting the market at the top of November carrying a $10,597 MSRP, which starts off lower at $8,299 here at Wellbots. Aside from the initial $1,000 pre-sale promotional discount, we’ve only seen this model taken down to $7,999 in early and full Black Friday sales from the brand, with this exclusive deal giving you a larger-than-ever, combined $1,100 off Wellbots’ starting rate ($3,398 off its MSRP) for the lowest price we have tracked. Head below to learn more about it and check out the 18 other offers for this system.

The EcoFlow DELTA Pro Ultra X power station is an even more capable home backup solution than its predecessor, starting with a 12,288Wh LiFePO4 battery capacity that can expand to 180kWh, which is twice as large a maximum as its predecessor’s final expanded capacity. Its power output also expands along with the system, going from 12,000W to 36,000W, complete with all the port options you could need to power devices, appliances, RVs, EVs, and much more. Among those options, you’ll also gain the greatest of the brand’s home backup capabilities here when paired alongside the Smart Home Panel 3 (which is included amongst the offers below).

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You’ll have plenty of options to recharge the station, including the usual AC outlet option, as well as with up to its 10,000W solar input max, gas generators, with a level 2 EV charging station, and through a Smart Home Panel from the grid or solar – or both simultaneously. Speaking of the Smart Home Panel 3, it’s a 200A hub for your home systems that covers up to 32 different circuits once installed, giving you emergency options to cut non-essential loads across your home should the grid ever go down unexpectedly.

***Note: Be sure to use the exclusive code 9TO5CMDPUX at checkout to score the additional 10% discount that gives you the prices seen below.

Exclusive Wellbots EcoFlow DELTA Pro Ultra X deals:

man and woman riding MOD Easy 3 e-bikes down road

MOD Bikes offers rare Black Friday/Cyber Monday e-bike discounts to lows starting from $1,799 (Up to $400 off)

It’s the final day of MOD Bikes’ Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale event with up to $400 rare discounts across its e-bike lineup, including one of my favorite rides of all time: the Easy 3 Cruiser e-bike at $2,199 shipped. There are also its sidecar counterparts, the Easy 3 SideCar e-bike at $3,499 shipped and the newer Easy SideCar Sahara also at $3,499 shipped – both down from $3,899. The standard Easy 3 e-bike dropped from its $3,499 MSRP to $2,399 during last year’s Black Friday season, which we stopped seeing the brand offer discounts for (alongside its entire lineup) back in spring, likely due to tariffs, but we’re getting a rare discount to its lowest tracked price here today, saving you $200 (and $400 off the SideCar variants to their lowest prices).

You learn more below and browse the entire sale lineup, as well as get my in-depth experience in my hands-on review here.

If you want to learn more about this particular model, you can get an in-depth experience in our hands-on review here, or check out our coverage of the full sale lineup here.

EcoFlow DELTA Pro Ultra power station outside next to solar panels

Get EcoFlow’s DELTA Pro Ultra power station + a FREE 400W solar panel at a new $3,449 Cyber Monday low ($2,350 off)

With Cyber Monday in full swing, over at Wellbots you can score the DELTA Pro Ultra Portable Whole-Home Backup Power Station with FREE 400W solar panel for $3,449.08 shipped, after using the code ECOBF8 at checkout, beating out the brand’s direct sale pricing that would cost you $4,178 with the event’s extra savings code. This monstrous bundle is dropping down from its $5,799 full price to $3,749, which already starts $50 under the previous low, but the deal gets all the sweeter thanks to the additional $300 that the extra savings code gets you. That’s $2,350 in total Cyber Monday savings, landing it at a new all-time low price.

You can learn more about this whole-home backup power solution in our original coverage of this deal here.

promotional Cyber Monday banner for Lectric e-bike sale
man and woman make coffee with power from Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 power station
EcoFlow DELTA 2 power station surrounded by plants in window
man riding bike with Jackery Explorer 240D power station
EGO Power+ Multi-Head Cyber Monday deal

Best Fall EV deals!

Best new Green Deals landing this week

The savings this week are also continuing to a collection of other markdowns. To the same tune as the offers above, these all help you take a more energy-conscious approach to your routine. Winter means you can lock in even better off-season price cuts on electric tools for the lawn while saving on EVs and tons of other gear.


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Lucid (LCID) calls out rivals as the 2026 Air remains the most efficient EV in the US

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5 hours ago

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December 1, 2025

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Lucid (LCID) calls out rivals as the 2026 Air remains the most efficient EV in the US

Lucid-Air-most-efficient-EV

Lucid Motors (LCID) is calling out the competition after the 2026 Air remains the most efficient EV in the US according to new EPA rankings.

2026 Lucid Air remains most efficient EV in EPA rankings

It has been 9 years since Lucid introduced the +400-mile-range Air, its first luxury electric sedan. Since then, the California-based EV maker has come a long way, introducing its first electric SUV, the Gravity, and plans to launch a series of more affordable midsize vehicles, starting later next year.

Lucid’s former CEO, Peter Rawlinson, who was a top engineer at Tesla before joining the luxury EV startup in 2013, promised the company’s innovations would be “the key to unlocking greater efficiency,” and ultimately, more affordable vehicles.

Rawlinson was not kidding. The 2024 Lucid Air Pure was deemed the “world’s most efficient car” with a record 5 miles of range per kWh and a 146 MPGe rating, the highest rating ever given to an EV by the EPA.

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Even with a slate of new EVs hitting the market, many claiming next-level efficiency, the Lucid Air is still ahead of the pack.

Lucid-Air-most-efficient-EV-2026
The 2026 Lucid Air (Source: Lucid)

According to new EPA rankings, the 2026 Lucid Air Pure RWD (with 19″ wheels) remains the most efficient EV in the US with a 146 MPGe rating.

The Air beat out the 2026 Tesla Model Y Standard RWD (138 MPGe), 2026 Tesla Model 3 Premium RWD (137 MPGe), 2026 Toyota bZ (131 MPGe), and the 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 Plus EV (126 MPGe).

Lucid’s communications boss, Nick Twork, shared the news on social media, saying the Air “delivers “S-Class size with unmatched efficiency.”

While many automakers tout EV range using more lenient WLTP or CLTC test cycles, Twork said Lucid’s advantage “comes from a holistic engineering approach” that was designed years ago and “still ahead of any passenger car sold today.”

Electrek’s Take

By developing electric vehicle components from the ground up, including the powertrain, battery systems, and software, Lucid has an advantage over many legacy automakers that rely on third parties to outsource.

For one, Lucid’s innovations are already driving down costs. The first Lucid Air Dream Edition, launched in 2021, started at $169,000. Today, you can snag the Lucid Air for as low as $70,900.

Lucid is now ramping production of its first electric SUV, the Gravity. Last month, it launched the lower-priced Gravity Touring trim, starting at $79,900.

Starting later next year, Lucid will begin production of its midsize platform, which will spawn at least three “top hats” priced around $50,000. The first will be a midsize crossover SUV, followed by a more rugged SUV that will share design clues from the Gravity X concept. Although it’s yet to be confirmed, the third is expected to be a midsize sedan that could go head-to-head with the Tesla Model 3.

Rawlinson previously said Lucid’s midsize vehicles are aimed “right in the heart of Tesla Model 3, Model Y territory.”

After reporting Q3 earnings last month, Lucid said it had enough liquidity to fund it through the first half of 2027 and confirmed it’s on track to begin production of the midsize platform in late 2026.

Ready to test Lucid’s luxury EVs for yourself? Lucid is running a Cyber Monday Special, offering $2,000 toward an Air or $3,000 toward a Gravity. Check out the links below to find Lucid Air and Gravity models in your area.


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