Picasolar Selected as a 'Most Promising' Company at Energy Forum

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Picasolar Inc. received this award at the 11th Annual Energy & Clean Technology Venture Forum in Houston

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Picasolar Inc., a start-up firm affiliated with the University of Arkansas, recently received a 2013 Energy & Clean Technology Award for its patent-pending process to improve the efficiency of solar cells.

Picasolar was one of the 10 “most promising” companies selected from a pool of global applicants at the 11th Annual Energy & Clean Technology Venture Forum, held in Houston on Sept. 12. The event featured more than 35 companies that presented their business models in front of 450 attendees that included investors, venture capitalists, industry representatives, business leaders, service providers and entrepreneurs. 

Picasolar’s technology, a hydrogen selective emitter invented by chief technology officer Seth Shumate — a doctoral student at the University of Arkansas — could improve the efficiency of solar cells by 15 percent, saving an average-sized solar panel manufacturer $120 million annually and making the panels more affordable for consumers.

“Taking a solar company to the energy capital of the world and being recognized as one of the most promising startups is a testament to our potential,” said Douglas Hutchings, Picasolar’s chief executive officer and an alumnus of the university.

Picasolar won more than $300,000 in cash while competing for the U of A at graduate business plan competitions in the spring, including $250,000 for winning the MIT NSTAR Clean Energy Prize.

The company has become a Genesis Technology Incubator client at the Arkansas Research and Technology Park. The University of Arkansas Technology Development Foundation manages the park.

The Clean Energy and Technology Forum is the largest energy and clean technology venture capital conference in the southwest. It is hosted by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, Rice University’s initiative devoted to the support of technology commercialization, entrepreneurship education and the launch of technology companies.

“Every year the quality of companies improves,” said Rice Alliance managing director Brad Burke, who presided over the announcement of the winners of the Energy & Clean Technology Venture awards at the event. “More than 1,400 companies have presented at Rice Alliance Technology Venture Forums. These companies have raised more than $2.1 billion in funding. This speaks to the quality of the companies and to the robust entrepreneurial ecosystem of investors that has been developed to support these companies.”