Region
Second Wave - Michigan
Capital Gains - Lansing
Catalyst Midland
Concentrate - Ann Arbor/Ypsi
Epicenter - Mount Pleasant
Route Bay City
Rural Innovation Exchange
Southwest Michigan
UPword - UP
The Keel - Port Huron
The Lakeshore
Metromode - Metro Detroit
Flintside - Flint
Model D - Detroit
Rapid Growth - Grand Rapids
Focus Areas
Arts and Culture
Community Development
Diversity
Economic Development
Entrepreneurship
Equity
Healthy Communities
Kids and Education
Sustainability
Technology and Innovation
Transportation
City
Ann Arbor
Chelsea
Dexter
Milan
Saline
Ypsilanti
Series
Concentrate
Block by Block
Detroit Driven
Inside our Outdoors
MI Mental Health
On The Ground
Voices of Youth
Statewide
Areas of Concern
Block by Block
Bridging the Talent Gap
COVID19
Cyber Security
Disability Inclusion
Early Education Matters
Forestry
Girl Scouts SE Michigan Team Up
Good Food
Greater Lakes
Inside our Outdoors
Invasive Species
MI Mental Health
Michigan Nightlight
Michigan's Agricultural Future
Michigan's State of Health Podcast
Nonprofit Journal Project
Preserving Michigan
State of Health
Stories of Change
Voices of Youth
Toggle navigation
Focus Areas
Arts and Culture
Community Development
Diversity
Economic Development
Entrepreneurship
Equity
Healthy Communities
Kids and Education
Sustainability
Technology and Innovation
Transportation
City
Ann Arbor
Chelsea
Dexter
Milan
Saline
Ypsilanti
Series
Concentrate
Block by Block
Detroit Driven
Inside our Outdoors
MI Mental Health
On The Ground
Voices of Youth
Statewide
Areas of Concern
Block by Block
Bridging the Talent Gap
COVID19
Cyber Security
Disability Inclusion
Early Education Matters
Forestry
Girl Scouts SE Michigan Team Up
Good Food
Greater Lakes
Inside our Outdoors
Invasive Species
MI Mental Health
Michigan Nightlight
Michigan's Agricultural Future
Michigan's State of Health Podcast
Nonprofit Journal Project
Preserving Michigan
State of Health
Stories of Change
Voices of Youth
About
Contact
Ypsilanti-born ShadePlex starts to grow up with investment
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
| Source:
Concentrate
Share
The important thing to keep in mind isn't that
ShadePlex
now calls Toledo its home. It's that the idea for the start-up was born and nurtured in Ypsilanti.
Concentrate
first reported on
ShadePlex
a year ago when it was just a start-up started among friends with an idea of putting solar cells on things like tents, struggling to get it off the ground. They're doing that now, however, from the University of Toledo's Energy Incubator.
The company made the move because it received a $50,000 product development grant from Toledo-based
Rocket Ventures
. Start-ups usually go where the venture capital firms that invest in them tell them to go. One of the company's co-founders, Brian Tell, still lives in Ypsilanti. The other co-founders live in Downriver and northern Ohio. The company hopes to hire 20-25 people in the next three years and hit $30 million by 2013.
ShadePlex is developing solar cells fabrics that can generate electricity. The idea is that putting them on something like a tent will allow a business or homeowner to generate more electricity somewhere that before only helped create a heat island.
Source: Brian Tell, president and co-founder of ShadePlex
Writer: Jon Zemke
Enjoy this story?
Sign up
for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.
Share
Related Tags
Renewable Energy
,
Sustainability
Recommended Content
Across Our Network
The shoe design that revolutionized Nike Air may have been seeded by an 18-year-old Covington kid
Source: Soapbox
Pontiac schools to replace all diesel buses with electric buses for 2024-25 school year
Source: Metromode
Local leaders look ahead at what Brightline expansion can mean for Tampa, Ybor
Source: 83Degrees
Consumers Energy brings new Workforce Development Program to Flint and Jackson
Source: Flintside