In 2001, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in partnership with the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Department of Defense (DOD), and other sponsors, organized the first Future Energy Challenge competition. The objective was to build prototype, low-cost inverters to support fuel cell power systems. This competition was originally open to schools in North America with accredited engineering programs.

The 2001 Future Energy Challenge focused on the emerging field of distributed electricity generation systems, seeking to dramatically improve the design and reduce the cost of dc-ac inverters and interface systems for use in distributed generation systems. The objectives were to design elegant, manufacturable systems that would reduce the costs of commercial interface systems by at least 50% and, thereby, accelerate the deployment of distributed generation systems in homes and buildings. Final events were conducted at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Morgantown, WV, USA. Speakers from IEEE, DOE, and DOD introduced the competition and interacted with students during the event week. Hardware was tested with an experimental fuel cell at the NETL site. The 2001 Challenge was a success, and is now the first in a biannual series of energy-based student team design competitions. To continue and expand the 2001 success, the 2003 International Future Energy Challenge (IFEC) was organized as a worldwide student competition.

The 2003 IFEC had two topics, a revised topic on fuel cell power conditioning, and a topic for high-efficiency motor drive systems suitable for home appliances. Major sponsors included three IEEE societies, DOE, and DOD. Fuel cell inverter events were again held at NETL. Motor system events were held at Advanced Energy in Raleigh, NC, USA.

The 2005 IFEC had two topics. The inverter topic was revised to incorporate photovoltaic sources and grid interaction, while the motor topic was revised only slightly. Major sponsors included three IEEE societies and DOD, with more modest sponsorship from DOE. Inverter events were held at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, CO, USA. Motor events were held at MPC Products in Skokie, IL, USA. The 2007 IFEC had two topics. An integrated starter/alternator and a Universal battery charger system were chosen as the two topics. Major sponsors included IEEE Power Electronics society, and Power Supply Manufacturer Association (PSMA). The final competitions were held at MPC Products in Skokie, IL and Texas Instrument in Richardson, TX.

The 2009 IFEC, similar to the previous editions, had two topics. The Integrated Starter/Alternator-Motor Drive for Automotive Applications topic was repeated, a new topic, the Power Wind Turbine Energy Maximizer was included. Major sponsors included IEEE Power Electronics society, Industrial Electronics Society, MPC Products, Monash University, IEEE Power Electronics Society, IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, and Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA). The final competitions were held at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, IL, USA, and in Monash University, VIC, Australia.

The 2011 IFEC had two topics. Topic A focused on low cost lithium ion battery chargers. The final competition of Topic A was held at University of Michigan-Dearborn. And Virginia Tech University of USA won the Grand Prize and the Outstanding Performance Award. Topic B focused on Low Power Induction Motor Drive System Supplied from a Single Photovoltaic Panel for an Emergency Water Treatment Device Maximizer. The final competition of Topic B was held at Federal University of Maranhao, Brazil. Federal University of Maranhao won the Grand Prize and Outstanding Performance Award as well as the Best Technical Presentation Award. Sponsors of this year’s competition include IEEE Power Electronics Society, IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, and Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA). The 2013 IFEC Competition also had two topics. Topic A focused on highly efficient microinverter for photovoltaic panels. The final competition was held on July 18-19. National Taiwan University of Science and Technology won the Grand Prize and the Best Efficiency Award, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics won the Best EngineeringAchievement Award, University of Kassel of Germany won the IEEE IES Best Innovative Design of Power Electronic Converters Award, and Beijing Jiaotong University won the Best Presentation Award. Topic B was focused on Low power off-line light-emitting diode (LED) driver with long lifetime. And the final competition was held at Zhejiang University on July 29- 30. Zhejiang University won the Grand Prize and the Best Efficiency Award; National ChengKung University won the Best Engineering Achievement Award; North China University of Technology won the Best Engineering Design Award. Sponsors of the 2013 IFEC competition include IEEE Power Electronics Society, IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, IEEE Industry Applications Society, IEEE Power and Energy Society and Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA).

The 2015 IFEC Competition also had two topics. The final competition of Topic A entitled High-efficiency Wireless Charging System for Electric Vehicles and Other Applications was held at University of Michigan-Dearborn, USA from July 13-15，2015. National Taiwan University of Science and Technology won Grand Prize. Kunming University of Science and Technology won Best Engineering Design. University of Michigan-Dearborn won Best Innovative Design. Osaka Institute of Technology won Best Innovative Design. Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul won Best Educational Impact. Zhejiang University won Best Control Implementation. The final competition of Topic B entitled Battery Energy Storage with an Inverter that Mimics Synchronous Generators was held at Sheffield University, United Kingdom from July 20-22. 2015. Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics won Grand Prize. Beijing Jiaotong University won Best Control Design. North Carolina State University won Best Efficiency. Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology won Best Educational Impact. IFEC2015 was cosponsored by the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS), Power & Energy Society (PES), Industry Application Society (IAS), Industrial Electronics Society (IES), Vehicular Technology Society (VTS) and Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA).

In 2014, the IFEC steering committee proposed to make IFEC an annual event from 2016. A single technical topic will be addressed by each competition. The detailed technical specification of the 2016 competition is listed in the following page.