It was huge for the University of Delaware — and green energy — when solar tech startup SHIO won the $50,000 first place prize at LaunchR, a U.S. Department of Energy-funded clean technology innovation contest run by Rutgers University students this past April.

SHIO, which developed a technology to create solar cells at a low temperature, was founded by Abhishek Iyer, doctoral student at UD’sDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering; David Angel, a doctoral student in materials science and engineering; James Hack, an engineering doctoral student in UD’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering; and Meixi Chen, a recent graduate with a doctorate in chemistry.

The startup has developed with help from from UD’s Horn Entrepreneurship.

From UDaily:

Iyer explained the advantage his research offers: “Our unique value proposition is that we can fabricate our solar cells around room temperature, as opposed to greater than 1,000 degrees Celsius for a conventional solar cell. The potential cost savings are about 40 percent via the elimination of high capital-intensive tools and operational costs attached to them.”

The SHIO technology focuses on providing high performance in a cost-effective package. The promising research early on in Iyer’s work inspired conversations with peers in his community and industry.

In 2016, SHIO was a semifinalist in Horn Entrepreneurship’s Hen Hatch competition.