GEMS Prize Challenge 2026
The U.S. Department of Energy offers $300,000 in prizes for algorithms that find hidden geologic faults in geophysical data. U.S. only, closes December 3, 2026.
The Geologic Enhanced Mapping System (GEMS) Prize is a $300,000 competition announced on September 10, 2026 by the U.S. Department of Energy's Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office, with support from the National Lab of the Rockies. Its aim is to help identify hidden geothermal systems.
Competitors develop, train and test algorithms that generate geologic fault datasets from real world geophysical data. Those datasets support mapping and modelling for geothermal resources and for locating critical minerals.
The prize money is split over two rounds. The Initial Prize Round pays $10,000 to each of the top five entries, $50,000 in total. The Final Prize Round pays $100,000 for first place, $70,000 for second, $40,000 for third, $25,000 for fourth and $15,000 for fifth.
The competition is limited to U.S. citizens, permanent residents and entities incorporated in the United States. Federal employees are not eligible. Individuals and teams can both enter.
Entries are submitted through the competition website hosted by DrivenData. The submission deadline is December 3, 2026 at 11:59 pm UTC.