Can Tucson Solar Tech Ventures Handle the Heat?

This project represents a case analysis of the Tucson and Southern Arizona environments for the commercialization of university-developed innovations and technologies. The focus is on the successfully launched solar-tech company REhnu, and how the venture has successfully licensed university intellectual property. Founded in 2009 by Dr. Roger Angel, REhnu uses a systems approach of parabolic mirrors that concentrates direct solar radiation 1200 times to a small set of multi-junction concentrating photovoltaic cells. The primary goals of the venture include building giga-watt farms and achieving cost parity with fossil fuels by 2020. This project’s qualitative research methods included semi-structured interviews with individuals from REhnu, the University of Arizona, and the Pima County Government. Combined with descriptive research utilizing electronic resources, one of the most pertinent challenges observed was a divergence of beliefs between certain academic and business communities. The summation of all observations generated the following recommendations for Tech Launch Arizona (TLA): I. Promote University of Arizona main campus as “Visibility Hub” for innovation II. Build long-term relationships within University of Arizona scientific communities III. Develop a transparent organizational structure with clear mandates and sufficient fundin