1. The Orion Energy Accelerator Terms & Conditions are void where prohibited by law.

2. By entering the Orion Energy Accelerator, you are indicating your intention to be bound by these Terms & Conditions (“T&Cs”). Please print and keep a copy of these T&Cs for your records.

3. Ministry of Awesome is contracted to manage this programme, on behalf of Orion Group.

4. Ministry of Awesome’s principal office is located at: Te Ōhaka - Centre for Growth & Innovation, KBlock, Ara Institute of Canterbury, Madras Street, Christchurch 8011. Ministry of Awesome’s email address is info@ministryofawesome.com

5. The main sponsor of the Orion Energy Accelerator is Orion Group. Orion Group’s principal office is located at: 565 Wairakei Road, Burnside, Christchurch 8053

6. Additional sponsors of the Orion Energy Accelerator are listed on the Orion Energy Accelerator Website.

COMPETITION RULES:

7. The Orion Energy Accelerator (“Energy Accelerator”) is open to individuals and multi-person teams, with a start date of 8 August 2022 and a duration of approximately five months. The Orion Energy Accelerator will conclude with a final demonstration, presentation, and award (“Demo Night”) to be held 22 Feb, 2022 in Christchurch, New Zealand.

8. The Orion Energy Accelerator website (“Website”) contains important dates, the deadlines for submissions, and may contain additional rules or limitations.

9. There is no fee for entry.

10. You can withdraw your submission at any time by emailing info@orionaccelerator.nz stating that you wish to withdraw.

11. In its sole discretion, Orion Group reserve the right (a) to suspend or cancel the Orion Energy Accelerator at any time, and for any reason, without notice to you or (b) to amend these T&Cs by posting such amendments to the Website. By your continued participation in the Orion Energy Accelerator after any amendment is so posted, you consent to be bound by such amendments.

12. Orion Group retain the sole discretion, to determine that any submission does not comply with these T&Cs and to disqualify the submission. Decisions to disqualify submissions are final and conclusive and require no prior notice to you. You further acknowledge that you have no other claim or remedy with respect to being disqualified.

13. Applications will only be accepted from current New Zealand residents.

14. All submissions must be in the English language. You may only make submissions on your own behalf. Orion Group will not accept entries sent through third parties, agencies or by automated means (such as scripts and macros).

15. Submissions by one or more-member teams will be allowed. You must credit the co-developer or co-developers in your team in your submission. If your team is invited to the Accelerator, at least one team members must be available to represent the team at the Orion Energy Accelerator final demo and award events in 22 February 2022 in Christchurch, NZ.

16. Plagiarism, copyright violations, or other forms of dishonesty are prohibited and will not be tolerated. You acknowledge that such acts of dishonesty will be grounds for immediate dismissal from the Orion Energy Accelerator, or revocation of any grant money, if they are discovered after a grant is given to a team.

17. Submissions may not contain illegal or discriminatory content and may not advocate for unethical behaviour. In addition to the foregoing, in all activities associated with the Orion Energy Accelerator, you agree to conduct yourself in a manner that is honourable and respectful of (and not disruptive to) other programme participants.

18. Judging of the Orion Energy Accelerator will be in two phases. In phase one, an internal committee of industry experts will pre-qualify each proposal and select up to ten (10) qualified teams that will be supported by the Orion Energy Accelerator programme. In phase two, a panel of  judges from different regions and Orion Energy Accelerator partners will select two teams to receive the Orion Startup Grants.

19. Applicable startups will receive incubation support from Ministry of Awesome for two months post programme in Christchurch.

20. To claim the Orion Startup Grants, the winning individual/team members must meet all the Orion Energy Accelerator application requirements.

21. The Accelerator participants will be determined by the date set forth on the Orion Energy Accelerator website and will be notified as soon as a decision is made, using the contact information supplied in the team’s submission. You acknowledge that it is your obligation to provide updated contact information to Orion Group, if your contact information changes during the Orion Energy Accelerator.

You acknowledge that if you change your contact information, or fail to update your contact information and Orion Group is not able to contact you before the Claims Period elapses, you shall forfeit the opportunity to compete and have no claim against Orion Group. If the Accelerator participants do not acknowledge participation within the Claim Period, are unwilling or unable to attend the Demo Night, are unwilling or unable to comply with any of the foregoing conditions incumbent on parties receiving conditional acceptance, or if a winning individual/team does claim the Orion Startup Grants, but is later determined to be ineligible for the grant, then the applicable individual/team will forfeit the grant and will not receive any alternative grant. In any of these instances, Orion Group may in its sole discretion declare the Orion Energy Accelerator to be void and there to be no replacement for the grant, or alternatively, Orion Group may choose (if applicable) to award the next eligible team.

22. The Orion Startup Grants are personal to the winning teams, and non-transferable. Any attempt to transfer the grant is null and void. No cash alternative is offered for in-kind awards. You are responsible for any and all taxes which may be payable as the result of receipt of the grant (including, but not limited to, sales and use taxes, if any).

ORION STARTUP GRANTS

23. Orion Group will keep records of all winning team members for at least two years after the grants are awarded. For a period of at least six months, Orion Group will display the winning team members’ names and photos (if Orion Group obtains photos) on the Orion Energy Accelerator website.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND JUDGING ETHICS

24. For the award process to be effective, there must be unquestionable fairness and objectivity for all concerned. All awards entry documentation and entry forms are treated as confidential by the organising team and judges.

25. Applicants are not expected to provide or reveal proprietary information regarding products, processes or services.

26. All of the judges will sign a non-disclosure agreement and will be asked to securely dispose of all electronic and paper copies of an entry as soon as judging is completed.

27. Judges will be asked to declare any conflicts of interest and if necessary alternative judging arrangements will be made.

28. Each judge has volunteered their time without compensation and is committed to assist with the success of the Accelerator.

29. Judging scores remain confidential to judges and no correspondence will be entered into regarding the outcome.

30. Feedback will be provided to for all teams with regards to their final applications and pitch .

31. You understand and agree that nothing in these T&Cs allow you to make a claim with respect to ownership of any intellectual property created by another Orion Energy Accelerator participant. Except as expressly stated in the following paragraphs, nothing in these T&Cs shall convey any rights in any intellectual property, trade secrets or inventions to Orion Group.

USE OF YOUR LIKENESS AND SUBMISSION:

32. You acknowledge that Orion Group and its agents may photograph and/or record any live Orion Energy Accelerator-related events. You grant to Orion Group, and you will obtain from each team member on whose behalf you are submitting the application, the non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully paid, irrevocable, sub-licensable right and license (but not the obligation) to use, modify, publish, republish, publicly display and copy your, and your team members’ (as applicable), name, alias, and biographical information submitted by you in order to compete in the Orion Energy Accelerator, or to attend the demo and awards event, voice, photograph, quotes and excerpts of your verbally expressed words, or other likeness whether captured during, or after the Orion Energy Accelerator, or during, or after the demo, and awards event (hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Likeness”), as well as all of the work that you reduce to a tangible form in connection with the submission (the “submission Content”), for any lawful purpose and/or for advertising, publicity, marketing, promotion and fundraising efforts of Orion Group and its various programmes, products, and events, and all allied ancillary and subsidiary rights therein and thereto (including without limitation merchandising and commercial tie-in rights), without separate compensation to you; provided, however, that if you notify Orion Group of such fact and Orion Group deems your position to be reasonable, Orion Group agrees, for a period of one year from such notification, not to publish information that you deem to be potentially patentable.

33. You understand that the Likeness and submission content may be copied, reproduced, and distributed by means of various media, including without limitation video and audio recordings, television, radio, news releases, mail--outs, emails, billboards, signs, brochures, websites, online and other digital and electronic delivery including social media, publication, display, or promotion on any and all other media. The Likeness and submission content may be subject to reasonable modification or editing. You will have no right to review the Likeness or submission content before it is used and Orion Group’s decisions with respect to use of the Likeness and submission content will be final. You relinquish and give Orion Group all rights, title, and interest in and to the Likeness in materials prepared by or on behalf of Orion Group, including all copyright therein. You agree to waive and never to assert any and all moral rights that you may have in or with respect to the copyrighted work within the submission content.

COVENANTS, REPRESENTATIONS, AND WARRANTIES:

34. You may not include in your submission any content in which another person or organisation has a proprietary interest unless you have first obtained their permission. You represent and warrant that except as disclosed in your submission, you own all rights, title, and interest in and to the submitted content.

35. You represent that neither your participation, nor any of your team members’ participation, in the Orion Energy Accelerator, nor your compliance with these T&Cs will infringe, misappropriate, or violate the rights of any third parties, or will breach any agreement that you have entered into, or will enter into with any third party, including without limitation any agreement to keep any third party’s proprietary information confidential. You hereby agree not to enter into any written or oral agreement that conflicts with these T&Cs.

36. You acknowledge that Orion Group is the lawful owner of the name, “Orion Group” and its associated trademarks and service marks, and you agree that unless you receive advance written approval from a senior manager of Orion Group, you will take no action inconsistent with Orion Group’s ownership of its names, trademarks, and service marks, including without limitation any incorporation of any of the foregoing into a longer name or other logo. For the avoidance of doubt, and without placing any limitation on the foregoing, you expressly agree not to place the logo or other trademarks of Orion Group on any product being offered for sale, promotional or any other commercial purposes whether in a physical or online format.

MISCELLANEOUS:

37. You hereby agree to release, discharge, and hold harmless Orion Group and any additional sponsors from any liability, claims, losses, injuries, and damages arising out of or relating to or that you may sustain as a result of or in the course of your participation in the Orion Energy Accelerator or the acceptance, use, misuse, or possession of any grant money. In no event shall Orion Group have any liability to you for any indirect, special, incidental, consequential, cover, or punitive damages however caused, whether in contract, tort, or under any other theory of liability, and whether or not the party has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

38. Your participation in the Orion Energy Accelerator does not create a partnership, franchise, joint venture, or employment relationship between you and Orion Group. You agree not to hold yourself out as an employee, agent, servant, partner, fiduciary, or joint -venturer of Orion Group. You shall not purport, through social media or otherwise, to speak on behalf of Orion Group in an official capacity. You shall not represent Orion Group, act as its agent, or otherwise enter into any contractual agreement or attempt to bind Orion Group.

39. Your participation in the Orion Energy Accelerator and these T&Cs are governed by New Zealand law (without regard to its conflicts of law provisions).

40. Any IP contained in materials provided to participants shall remain the property of the partner providing it.

41. Sharing and/or giving away confidential IP provided in the programme to 3rd parties is prohibited.