The Technology Priority Maps (TPMs) highlight CalNEXT’s research priorities across six technology categories and 46 technology families. Each technology family provides details on the types of research CalNEXT would like to fund in support of the investor-owned utility energy efficiency program portfolios. The most recent version of the TPMs was published on December 15, 2022 and will be updated annually by the CalNEXT team.
Prospective projects submitted after December 15, 2022 will be evaluated using the 2022 TPMs since these projects will begin the project planning stage after the new TPMs become effective on March 1, 2023.
We encourage prospective participants to view each TPM by Technology Type using the links below.
Each quarter we will be identifying technologies that could use additional focus. We will issue a Request for Ideas
and share why we are prioritizing these technologies, as well as the opportunities and considerations.
View the Q2 2023 RFI here. Submission deadline: May 25, 2023
View the Q1 2023 RFI here. Submission deadline: February 23, 2023
Project submissions will be scored by the CalNEXT Team based on the following criteria:
Projects are eligible for a high score in this criteria category if they have a strong benefit to utilities.
It is important that you answer the Idea intake form questions with as complete an answer as possible to ensure full evaluation of the Idea. We recognize that you might be performing research to answer some of the project questions, especially in the Quality of Idea/Project category. We request that you indicate this within your answers.
Idea submissions will be evaluated based on their likelihood to be developed into a project by meeting the above criteria.
To provide transparency into the CalNEXT portfolio and our key focus areas, each quarter we will publish reports on the project submissions we have received for each technology area and project type. Future quarterly reports will be updated to show the progress being made from quarter to quarter.
View the Q1 2023 Quarterly Technology Area Report here.
View the Q4 2022 Quarterly Technology Area Report here.
Yes, and we recommend that you prepare your answers before using the online form, as your answers may not be saved if you leave the session and come back to it later. Here are the links to the PDFs of each form:
Yes, please see this Example Submission, to get a better idea of the type of information the CalNEXT team needs to fairly evaluate your project.
Project and field sites need to be in the CA IOU electric service area, which includes CCAs in CA. There is an exception for lab demonstrations. Your product or solution can be developed in other regions, but you must justify the benefits specific to CA (climate zones or specific to CA buildings) since this is a CA ratepayer-funded program. Your company can be based outside of CA, but the site test demo, site demo, or field installation (where the project is being tested) must be based in CA.
Not necessarily, but having a project site identified will make your submission stronger. If you do not yet have a site identified, please clarify in your submission how you intend to recruit a site, whether you will need CalNEXT partner support to find a site, and whether your site recruitment is part of your project scope.
One of our review criteria specifically addresses the question of whether the project submitted is innovative. Additionally, our Program Team reviewing the ideas was assembled specifically to ensure that we have expertise across different technology areas, as well as diverse experience in implementing past programs. We are relying on this team of experts to understand the landscape.
Check out our approved projects, and view all past and current California statewide emerging technology projects and reports on the Emerging Technologies Program Portal or the Emerging Technologies Coordinating Council websites.
Once information is submitted via the CalNEXT website form, it goes into our project management system where we can control the visibility and access to the various applications. VEIC and Energy Solutions, who are overseeing the selection process, can see everything that comes in. Before it gets scored, a PDF is created with key pieces of information removed before it is given to the evaluators. During evaluation, evaluators don’t see names, and they only have view access to score the project information.
If the submission gets moved forward into a project, the CalNEXT partner that you’re paired with will be able to see the details but at no point is your project submission information made public. Projects that have been reviewed and accepted by SCE are listed on our Approved Projects page once you’ve developed a short public project description.
CalNEXT will not take equity and there is no intent to take any ideas. To receive the funding and implement a project, you will need to be under contract with Energy Solutions and abide by SCE terms and conditions.
Ideas or Project submissions can be submitted at any time, but they will only be evaluated once a quarter. You can find the current submission deadline listed on the How to Participate page.
The types of projects that fall under the CalNEXT Program include, but are not limited to: verifying a technology’s technical claims, understanding the market barriers, or assessing a technology’s ability to provide savings for the IOU (investor-owned utilities) portfolios at scale, and evaluating new program approaches.
Project ideas that are not in scope include:
All idea proposers will receive an email response with information on the selection status of their idea.
Yes, all ideas will be acknowledged and if a project has sufficient information to move to scoring, evaluators will provide comments and feedback on the idea during scoring as necessary. These include:
Projects may be selected, deferred, or rejected. Ideas will be deferred if the idea is strong, but is not the right fit with the program at a particular time. Ideas will be rejected if they do not meet the program scope or evaluation criteria.
Projects may be deferred for a variety of reasons:
The ETP categories are based on qualitative ratings, energy efficiency performance, and four key factors from the 2020 TPMs: energy efficiency performance, demand flexibility, codes and standards alignment, and decarbonization potential. Those all receive qualitative ratings from subject matter experts (SMEs) and are subject to utility feedback. Then, that flows up to prioritization based on other programs’ focus.
You can expect to have one of the partner teams assigned to support you throughout the process. For more details, please refer to the Participant Expectations Guide.
If your project is selected, we will provide funding and implementation support from our team of partners. The funding is meant to cover the costs of implementation and any equipment that would need to be purchased as part of the project. This funding ranges for different projects. We also support projects that leverage co-funding from other Emerging Technologies (or similar) programs. This is not a grant program as we are focusing on helping implement the project rather than just funding the project.
It depends on the project. Please plan for at least two weeks of contracting review.
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