Team of 3 launches Arbor Solar Technologies out of U-M

A team of three University of Michigan students are pushing forward with a green-tech start-up that will help spread more natural light into buildings. Arbor Solar Technologies is developing an energy-efficient lighting scheme that uses mirrors to pipe in sunlight as a complement to cutting-edge LED lights. "When it's sunny out we are able to get sunlight further into the building," says James Detlefs, co-founder of Arbor Solar Technologies. The 7-month-old start-up got its start as a senior design project at the university. It has now grown to the point where it placed as a finalist for the Michigan Clean Energy Venture Challenge (taking home a $5,000 cash prize) and is aiming to become the newest member of TechArb. "There is a pretty big demand for it," Detlefs says. "We found a company in Ann Arbor (a prominent downtown-based tech firm) that will help us prototype it." Arbor Solar Technologies has a team of three co-founders and expect to grow its team to a handful of people as it continues to develop its technology. Most of the next members of this start-up will be core members of its executive team. "We're still looking for an MBA to help us with the business end of it," Detlefs says. Source: James Detlefs, co-founder of Arbor Solar Technologies Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.