EnerHack put a unique spin on traditional hackathons (which are sprint-like intensive collaborative coding events that usually have an open-ended end-goal of creating useable software) by providing all the teams with an energy research and education platform called EnerGyan that Manur and Sehloff developed. Using EnerGyan, functionally an “energy grid in a box,” as a scaffold and starting point gave the students unprecedented chances to tinker with real-world hardware.

EnerHack was also the first hackathon in Madison with a strict focus on one problem: sustainable energy.