Pittsburgh — The McElhattan Foundation has extended the registration and final submission deadlines for its Zero Electrocution Challenge.
Innovators now have until Sept. 1 to register and Sept. 24 to submit final entries for the grant competition, aimed at developing solutions that eliminate life-threatening tasks that lead to on-the-job electrocutions.
The competition is part of the grantmaking organization’s new ZERO 2050, a recurring national grant competition that focuses on “innovative solutions with high potential to save workers’ lives.”
The foundation will award $1 million each to two winners of the challenge, which is open to nonprofit organizations, for-profit companies, benefit corporations, tribal governments and educational institutions. Finalists will be announced Jan. 19, with the grand prize winners announced in April.
Applicants are encouraged to complete the Zero Electrocution Challenge Readiness Tool to confirm eligibility and fit before registering.
Proposals should demonstrate effectiveness, feasibility and the potential to scale. The winning solutions, according to a foundation press release, must eliminate electrocution hazards on the job while advancing enterprise productivity and profitability.
Contact with electricity is one of the leading causes of workplace deaths, according to the Electrical Safety Foundation International. Between 2011 and 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded around 150 work-related electrical deaths each year, while OSHA data shows that 74% of those were in nonelectrical occupations.
“For too long we’ve focused on making dangerous work a little safer,” McElhattan Foundation Chair and CEO Kent McElhattan said in the release. “ZERO 2050 seeks to create breakthrough innovations that remove the dangers entirely.”
