Startups

A Newark solar tech company won a DOE pitch competition

Horn Entrepreneurship venture SHIO took home $50,000 in the LaunchR clean tech pitch contest in April.

SHIO's technology can reduce the cost of making solar cells by 40% (Photo by Flickr user Martin Abegglen, used under a Creative Commons license)

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 story
Companies: University of Delaware Horn Entrepreneurship / University of Delaware

Before you go...

Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.

Our services Preferred partners The journalism fund
Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

Trending

20 entrepreneurship, tech and startup events to fill your February

These 10 regions could be most impacted by federal return-to-office mandates

Delaware Black Chamber of Commerce lays out its plan for combatting anti-DEI orders

Philly vs. Kansas City: Who’s got the stronger tech economy?

Technically Media