Following on the heels of winning the Energy and Resources Category, the RePurpose Team then competed for the overall Grand Prize—and won!  In 2006, the Big Ideas Contest launched at UC Berkeley to catalyze and support an interdisciplinary and diverse network of student entrepreneurs to develop game-changing innovations.  This year, Big Ideas received a record 336 applications representing more than 1,000 students, across 12 universities and more than 85 majors. 

On Wednesday April 24 teams representing the top seven innovations, the BIGGEST Big Ideas, faced off for the $5000 Grand Prize, with Davis-based RePurpose taking home an additional $5,000 in addition to the $10,000 from the category win.   Here is their winning 5-minute Pitch Day presentation for their “second-life” battery energy storage system using used EV batteries.

“This win provides us with financial support and, more importantly, powerful validation of our progress and potential,” said Ryan Barr, COO and UCD GSM student.  Next on their agenda is finding a location at a local business for a new demo. Congratulations to the whole team on an impressive performance!