Startup that turns stoves into charging stations wins University of Washington business plan competition
JikoPower took home the top prize at the UW Business Plan Competition. Photo via UW.
JikoPower took home the top prize at the UW Business Plan Competition. Photo via Matt Hagen.

A startup that is looking to turn stoves into charging stations took home top honors Thursday night at the 19th annual University of Washington Business Plan Competition.

In front of a crowd of more than 300 at the Bell Harbor Conference Center, $ 85,000 in prize money was handed out to 12 student-led teams who competed in the month-long competition.

The top winner — JikoPower Inc. — is developing a way to provide sustainable energy to people around the world by converting wasted energy from appliances like stoves into electricity that can charge cell phones, LED lights, and other small devices. JikoPower, which is made up of five UW students and recently ran its first pilot project in Gabon, won the $ 25,000 grand prize.

Here’s a rundown of all the winners, with descriptions from each team:

$ 10,000 2nd Place Prize: Decaf Style (University of Washington)

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Decaf Style is currently developing new natural and cost-effective materials that provide instant beverage decaffeination without use of chemicals or affecting the taste.

$ 7,520.16 3rd Place Prize: MultiModal Health (University of Washington)

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MultiModal Health develops connected platforms using affordable sensing and analytic technology to understand and improve health for everyone.

$ 5,000 4th Place Prize: Engage (Washington State University)

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Engage develops medical technology for developing countries with a shortage of resources, initially through the product SafeShot to reduce the spread of bloodborne diseases.

$ 5,000 Big Picture Prizes

MultiModal Health (University of Washington)

MultiModal Health develops connected platforms using affordable sensing and analytic technology to understand and improve health for everyone.

Safe-Fur (University of Washington)

The world’s first self-recharging implantable GPS, created to effectively help recover lost or stolen pets.

Engage (Washington State University)

Engage develops medical technology for developing countries with a shortage of resources, initially through the product SafeShot to reduce the spread of bloodborne diseases.

Ionic Windows (University of Washington)

Ionic Windows provides membranes to flow battery manufacturers that enable a 25 percent capital cost reduction, making grid-scale renewable energy economically viable.

$ 2,500 Best Idea Prizes

Decaf Style (University of Washington)

Decaf On The Way to Go is currently developing new natural and cost-effective materials that provide instant beverage decaffeination without use of chemicals or affecting the taste.

Scholarship Junkies (University of Washington)

Students helping provide free, top quality support for anyone striving to fund their college success.

Coulomb Sea (formerly Smart Charger Pro) (University of Washington)

The Smart Charger Pro offers customers a smarter and customizable way to charge their electronic devices; utilizing flexible rates, a quicker charge or a longer life per charge and improved battery health can be achieved while reducing battery waste.

Aquapel (University of Washington)

Aquapel patented technologies create a self-cleaning system for solar panels by creatively manipulating water droplets movement on the panel’s surface. By doing this, we eliminate labor cost, minimize water usage, and cut back the payback time by 25 percent.

CadaVR (University of Washington)

CadaVR is a virtual reality platform to help teach students anatomy and physiology. We like to call it a living cadaver lab because it gives students a hands-on learning experience like a physical cadaver lab, and will simulate things that a physical cadaver lab cannot, such as the heart beating normally and pathologically.

Z-ion+ Technologies (University of Washington)

Z-ion+ Technologies utilizes patent-pending technology to make non-stick, long-lasting, durable coatings that can be applied to any vascular medical device to prevent complications due to blood clots.

MetRS (University of Washington)

MetRS has discovered new antibiotics that have great potency against drug-resistant bacteria like MRSA and Staph. If approved this drug could save approximately $ 27 million in healthcare costs and 55 lives daily.

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