UALR Startup Poly Adaptive Awarded ADFA Grant for Solar Technology
UALR startup Poly Adaptive has been awarded a $36,000 grant from the Arkansas Development Finance Authority to scale up its Electro-Dynamic Shield (EDS) technology for large-scale solar panel applications.
Poly Adaptive is a client firm of the Arkansas Small Business & Technology Development Center. It was launched to commercialize the technology developed at UALR's Center for Integrative Nanotechnology Sciences.
Here's more from ASBTDC:
Previously, the Poly Adaptive team has proven through Small Business Innovation Research awards that the EDS technology effectively operates through a transparent, electrostatic-based system to self-clean dust and debris buildup on small-scale applications such as camera lenses for railroad inspection systems and solar panels for space applications.
Major industry leaders in solar power have shown an interest in a large-scale EDS that could clean large solar panels found on the rooftops of commercial and residential buildings.
“Although the final engineering design prototypes have been fabricated, many of the full-scale prototypes are not yet finished. This additional ADFA funding will allow us to complete the full-scale prototypes needed for field testing,” said Dr. Charles Buhler, principal investigator and program manager for Poly Adaptive.
Full story from ASBTDC here. Look for more soon on UALR research in this space and from our media partner, Arkansas Business. Plus, look for more on ADFA and its role in the state's tech startup ecosystem in next week's AB print edition.
In the meantime, keep up the good work, yall.