Solar cell idea wins CleanTech Challenge

The newest innovations in clean technology have been celebrated at a London Business School and University College London initiative.

A global range of student teams competed in the CleanTech Challenge 2011, which was won by a group proposing a low-cost process which would see the use of nanostructures to improve the efficiency of solar cells.

The winning team, Black Silicon Solar Cells, is a partnership between Rasmus Davidsen from the Technical University of Denmark and Hjalmar Nilsonne from the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden.

The event provides entrants with the opportunity to tout for financial backing from potential investors and also receive invaluable feedback from venture capitalist and entrepreneurs.

An initial 85 entrants were whittled down to 10 teams battling it out in the final of the competition, which aims to stimulate innovation in clean technology and foster cooperation between students with business and technical backgrounds. The competition, which was hosted at the School on 21 and 22 April, is now in its third year.

Sir Andrew Likierman, Dean, London Business School, said: "I am proud to support the CleanTech Challenge 2011. This is a unique platform that encourages graduate students from business and engineering schools to take innovative clean technology ideas from the concept phase into business plans for seed funding.

"Together with University College London, London Business School is delighted to welcome these terrific contestants to the Challenge."