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.
Read the full storyJoin our growing Slack community
Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!
Donate to the Journalism Fund
Your support powers our independent journalism. Unlike most business-media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational contributions.

State-run immigrant support offices are stuck in limbo across the mid-Atlantic

Working in libraries gave this leader a roadmap for tackling digital inequity

This Week in Jobs: Let the sun shine on your career with these 27 tech opportunities
