UofL startup Sofab Inks scales perovskite innovation

UofL startup Sofab Inks scales perovskite innovation

On a mission to accelerate decarbonization,  Sofab Inks is reimagining how solar panels are made — making them more efficient, affordable and scalable in the process. Founded in 2022 by UofL researchers Sashil Chapagain, Blake Martin and Peter Armstrong, the chemical manufacturing startup is translating breakthroughs in perovskite chemistry into real-world clean energy solutions.

Originating within UofL’s Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research, the startup gained early support through LaunchIt, UofL’s innovation bootcamp that is part of the NSF I-Corps Site program. 

“LaunchIt was a turning point for our team. The program helped our scientific founders begin thinking like entrepreneurs and provided the structure to move a promising lab innovation toward a scalable startup,” said COO Jack Manzella. 

Sofab Inks develops advanced liquid “nanoparticle inks” that replace expensive and difficult-to-manufacture materials traditionally used in perovskite solar cells. These inks enable manufacturers to deposit critical layers using scalable, low-cost coating and printing techniques rather than complex vacuum-based or clean-room processes, significantly reducing production costs while improving device performance and stability.

The technology is designed for use in next-generation perovskite and perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells, which are widely viewed as the future of high-efficiency solar manufacturing. In October 2025, one of Sofab’s materials achieved a world-record 22.2% power conversion efficiency on a 900-square-centimeter solar module—an important milestone demonstrating that perovskite technologies can perform at commercially relevant scales.