MANCHESTER, NH – Dig Energy, a geothermal drilling tech startup, was the third-place winner in the U.S. Department of Energy’s EPIC Pitch Competition.
The Manchester company won a $10,000 prize at the competition, held May 20-21 at the Energy Thought Summit in San Antonio, Texas. The summit is hosted by the department’s Office of Technology Commercialization.
Dig Energy was one of six startups from across the country to make it to the final pitch for emerging technologies that address critical challenges across energy, manufacturing, and national security, according to a news release from the Department of Energy.
Dig Energy was recognized for developing a compact, affordable, and thermally efficient drilling technology with the potential to accelerate the adoption of geothermal heating and cooling, according to the release.
The Manchester company was founded by Dulcie Madden, CEO, and Thomas Lipoma, CTO.
“The EPIC Pitch Competition is a platform for startups to showcase their cutting-edge technologies that could help unleash affordable, reliable energy for our nation,” said Anthony Pugliese, DOE chief commercialization officer and director of OTC. “EPIC pitch competition winners clearly understand the positive impact their tech could have on the industry, and they are well positioned to partner with the private sector to advance their ideas.”
The six that pitched at the contest were chosen from businesses across the nation nominated by incubators that had successfully participated in the EPIC program. The finalists had five minutes each to pitch their technologies to a panel of reviewers on May 20. The winners were announced the next day.
The finalists “impressed the audience and reviewers with presentations detailing their technology, market opportunity and strategy, business model, and team,” the release said. Reviewers scored the pitches based on presentation skills, content, and investment potential.
First place winner was Infinion Technology, of Palo Alto, California, which was awarded $50,000. Infinion makes AI-powered, high-frequency magnetic sensing for real-time grid asset monitoring, enabling a more resilient, reliable grid.
Second Place winner was Anactisis, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which was awarded $20,000. The company produces polymer-based materials to recover critical minerals from industrial waste streams.
LabStart, of Denver, Colorado, won the nominating Incubator Award, and received $25,000.
The other finalists were:
- Natrion Inc., of Binghamton, New York, , which makes separators for lithium batteries that make cells safer, fast-charging, and more cost efficient;
- Petra Power, of Solon, Ohio, which makes efficient, fuel-flexible power systems converting diesel, natural gas, propane, to electricity with 90% greater efficiency;
- Sage Geosystems, of Houston, Texas, which commercializes new geothermal technologies to improve the cost and efficiency of power, heating, and energy storage.
