New to the business world, Effimax Solar is here to stay. Based out of the research sector on the University of Illinois-Champaign campus, Effimax Solar is a new start-up company whose creation stems from the innovation of one U of I Graduate student, Yi Chen.
Jingrui Lu and Yi Chen, Effimax Solar
Chen is credited with developing a new nanotexturing method which is applied to solar panels. With the use of the Effimax Machinery Chen, along with his team, are able to produce high-efficency silicon cells.
Co-founder of Effimax solar, Rui Cai, explains,
“With our patented technology, we are able to produce the solar industry’s most powerful silicon cells.”
Cai, an Illinois College of Business graduate, hopes that with this new technology, “solar power will one day be in the same price range as regular electricity”.
Cai explained that Chen’s idea originated while he was an ECE student at the university. His ECE Assistant Professor Gang Logan Liu was also a huge help in developing the technology they currently have today. Cai states that, “If it wasn’t for the guidance and professional help from Liu, Effimax Solar would not be what it is today.”
Today, the Effimax Solar team consist of five bright individuals. Along with founder YI Chen and co-founder Rui Cai are Chief Operating Officer Aaron Wiener, as well as an Illinois State Alumnus Dave Tarvin, and a University of North Dakota graduate student, Jingrui Lu.
Among other sources of funding, Effimax Solar was one of two U of I startup company finalists that won 10,000 to 15,000 dollars from Marengo Hampshire Partners at the 2011 Cozad New Venture Competition for best clean energy. Cai explained that, “with the more money we are funded to produce the technology, the more technology we can sell to other solar cell manufacturers through customized contracts, which will result in much more affordable solar energy.”
As a full-time worker at Effimax Solar, Cai’s main goal is to, “make a better world”. He knows that this is only the beginning of many more great things to come and is extremely excited to see what the future holds.