For the fifth year in a row, Shell is partnering with Net Impact to host the Future of Energy Challenge for chapter members.

This year’s competition focuses on innovative ways to reduce scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard – an international guideline designed to help companies and other organizations identify, calculate and report GHG emissions – defines each emissions category as:

  • Scope 1: Direct emissions produced by company-owned facilities and operations
  • Scope 2: Value chain emissions outside scope 1 operations. They are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy, sourced from outside facilities.
  • Scope 3: Value chain emissions outside scope 1 and 2, including emissions from suppliers, employees, and product users. e.g., in the case of energy companies, scope 3 emissions include, but are not limited to, those that come from customer use of refinery and natural gas products (individual and commercial).

Solutions may address the following areas and examples:

  • Carbon Technology (e.g. carbon capture and/or storage, direct air capture)
  • City-Level Solutions (e.g. electrifying infrastructure, green urban planning, carpooling incentives, smart cities)
  • Energy Access (e.g. microgrids in disadvantaged communities, resilient energy supplies)
  • Energy Education (e.g. learning programs on efficient energy usage)
  • Infrastructure Efficiency (e.g. smart buildings or fugitive emissions f rom gas usage in a community)
  • Mobility (e.g. electric transportation)
  • Material Circularity (e.g. materials recycling and re-use, excluding plastics)
  • Plastics (e.g. recycling, pyrolysis)
  • Power hydrogen, renewable, Storage (e.g. wind, solar, tidal energies)
  • Regenerative Energy (e.g. waste to energy systems, wind turbines on highways, microturbines on rainwater runoff)

Participating teams will receive mentorship from Shell leaders and subject matter experts throughout the duration of the program. The competition will culminate with an accelerator and pitch competition at the end of the program.

There are two early bird deadlines for the program – February 18, 2022, and March 18, 2022. Teams who submit their solutions by these deadlines will receive personalized feedback from Net Impact, giving them plenty of time to adjust their proposals – if needed – before the final submission deadline of April 15, 2022.

To learn more about the Future of Energy Challenge, visit the Net Impact website.