University of Utah awards $250K climate prize to Houston-based Solidec

SALT LAKE CITY — Houston-based company Solidec was selected Wednesday as the winner of the $250,000 Wilkes Climate Innovation Prize, rising to the top of over 500 submissions and eight other finalists.

Awarded annually by the University of Utah's Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy, the prize aims to support climate solutions that have the potential to make an impact but face uncertainty, whether it be through funding or adoption pathways.

"The climate challenges we face demand more than insight alone. They require bold ideas, practical solutions, and the determination to move those solutions from the laboratory and the classroom into the world," University of Utah President Taylor Randall said. "That is the guiding principle of the Wilkes Center: climate insight, practical solutions, and measurable impact."

The 2026 rendition of the prize announcement was made live from the Explorer's Club in New York City as part of Climate Week NYC.

Solidec co-founder and CTO Yang Xia told the crowd after receiving the award that the company was born from one simple idea: Chemicals shouldn't come on trucks.

"Chemical manufacturing today, it is produced in centralized plants and then delivered to our customers over thousands of miles and over long distance. People are paying a high premium for cost of the transportation and storage and handling of those hazardous chemicals," Xia said.

Solidec simplifies chemical manufacturing by developing autonomous, on-site chemical generators that produce essential chemicals using air, water and electricity, giving businesses greater control over chemical supply chains while reducing storage, transportation, waste and carbon emissions.

The company's initial focus is on hydrogen peroxide, with a platform capable of producing additional chemicals including formic acid, acetic acid and syngas.

Xia said Solidec's process is energy efficient, doesn't generate any bio waste and reduces emissions associated with chemical manufacturing.

The $250,000 prize, Xia said, is "catalytic" to deploying Solidec in the field as a commercial product.

"We are thrilled to join the Wilkes community," Ryan DuChanois, founder and CEO of Solidec, said in a statement. "The award will help us deploy our chemical generation systems with our early customers, producing low-carbon chemicals on site for buyers who currently have them trucked in."

Using hydrogen peroxide alone as an example, Xia said the company projects to abate one to two million metric tons of CO2 over the next decade.

"Chemicals shouldn't come on trucks, and the Wilkes Prize is helping us bridging this gap to make that change," Xia said.

Related topics