Fifteen regional candidates competed for $100K in cash prizes at the National Pitch Event in Austin, Texas on April 3rd, with three finalists. First place went to Team Heliotrope from New York University for efficiency-boosting coatings that increase solar panel efficiency by 10-15%. Second Place went to Team ReLi from the University of Virginia for technology to recycle lithium-ion batteries to recover critical materials and reintroduce them back into the supply chain by leveraging DOE national laboratory technologies. Third Place went to team Icorium from the University of Kansas for methods to separate end-of-life refrigerant mixtures for recycling using membrane technology and extractive distillation with ionic liquids.
A team of KU PhD students was awarded a $20,000 cash prize at this year’s EnergyTech UP challenge. The team, including Icorium cofounder Kalin Baca and Icorium Graduate Engineering Intern Abby Harders, was one of 184 teams selected to compete, representing 124 schools from across the US and its territories.
The 2024 competition will take place in April in Austin Texas. For more information, visit the EnergyTech UP page on HeroX.