Elon Musk is among leading energy scientists from six nations who have been shortlisted for the Global Energy Prize.
The announcement of the candidates being considered for the award was made by Rae Kwon Chung of the award committee, at the St Petersburg Economic Forum.
The full shortlist includes: Sergey Alekseenko (Russia), Khalil Amine (USA), Kemal Hanjalic (Netherlands), Russell Dean Dupuis (USA), Elon Reeve Musk (USA), Hans Joachim Schellnhuber (Germany), Lee Rybeck Lynd (USA), Igor Grekhov (Russian Federation), Yumei Lu (China), Martin Green (Australia),
Half of those named work in the field of renewable energy, with others specialising in energy efficiency and environmental research.
The winner, decided by a committee of 20 scientists from 13 different countries, will be named at a press conference on June 7.