This article was published on July 22, 2014

Google’s ‘Little Box Challenge’ to shrink a power inverter is now open for submissions


Google’s ‘Little Box Challenge’ to shrink a power inverter is now open for submissions

Google is looking to reward engineers and budding innovators for coming up with a more compact solution for transforming energy garnered from renewable sources into something usable in your home.

The internet giant first announced the initiative back in May, but now it’s full steam ahead as Google has finally opened it for submissions. As things stand, the typical power inverter for solar or wind power is roughly the size of a picnic cooler, as Google notes, but it’s looking for clever people to shrink this down to the size of a tablet, roughly a tenth of its current size. “Put a little more technically, we’re looking for someone to build a kW-scale inverter with a power density greater than 50W per cubic inch. Do it best and we’ll give you a million bucks,” explains Eric Raymond from the Google Green Team.

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So if you’re up for a challenge, you can sign up now. The registration deadline is September 30, 2014, with a full technical approach and testing application required by July 22, 2015. Exactly a year from today.

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Depending on the quality of submissions, up to 18 finalists will be notified of their selection for final testing.

Little Box Challenge

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