Smart Cities

Investment in Smart Glass Startups Accelerates Building Integrated Photovoltaic Tech

Investment in Smart Glass Startups are Accelerating the Adoption of Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) Technology.

Stay ahead of the pack

with the latest independent smart building research and thought leadership.

Have an account? Login

Subscribe Now for just $180 USD per year per user ( just $15 USD per month) for Access to Quality Independent Smart Building Analysis!

What Exactly Do you Get?

  • Read every article published in full and get unlimited access to our archive of over 1,400 articles.
  • 10% discount on ALL Memoori Research reports for Subscribers! So if you only buy ONE report you will get your subscription fee back!
  • Industry-leading Analysis Every Week, Direct to your Inbox.
  • AND Cancel at any time
Subscribe Now

This article was written by Daphne Tomlinson, Senior Research Associate at Memoori.

Smart Glass can be capable of electronic shading (in place of blinds or a sunroof) to create peak electricity demand savings of up to 30% as a result of blocking entering heat. It can also be a transparent photovoltaic glass for generating electricity locally in a building and is considered as one example of Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) technology.

Smart Glass has been used sporadically for the past 30 years and has yet to make a significant impact on improving energy efficiency globally. The lack of mainstream adoption to date is attributed to several factors, namely the high price, lack of aesthetic appeal, and unwillingness to invest in new technologies. 

In 2021, we have seen a number of smart glass startups achieve the next level of Series funding. Combined with announcements of strategic partnerships with key stakeholders in construction, real estate, and the glass sectors over recent years. These are positive signals that the technology is gaining greater acceptance in the smart buildings space. 

Physee, a Dutch startup founded in 2014, claims to be the first company in the world to succeed in developing facades that provide both energy and data, optimizing the energy efficiency of buildings. Their primary technology called SmartSkin, developed to lower energy consumption and generate electricity, is implemented in glass windows, which are enhanced with solar cells and a range of sensors. Solar cells harness electricity from the sun while sensors gather information about light intensity, temperature, pressure, and air quality. Physee’s proprietary light-converting POWER+ coatings enable windows to generate power, making buildings energy neutral.

In January 2021, Physee closed the first half of its Series A investment after raising EUR 4M. followed by the conclusion of its investment round in May 2021 with another EUR 4M from new investors Phase2.Earth and Adunare.  Edge, the Dutch real estate developer of healthy and sustainable buildings also participated in the funding. 

An Australian public company, ClearVue Technologies (ASX: CPV) also operates in the Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) sector developing glass windows and building surfaces to produce renewable energy. In May 2021, the firm announced a joint venture with Dutch company, eLstar Dynamics that aims to create self-powered autonomous windows capable of integrated energy production and lighting control.  ClearVue is working with eLstar Dynamics in what both companies believe will create “a game-changing solution” and new product category - windows and glazing that both generate power and then uses part of that power to operate eLstar’s autonomously tintable glazing layer to control light levels into a building - all at the same time removing the need for curtains, blinds, and other window treatments.

The retrofit market has been pivotal in ClearVue’s marketing efforts targeting major global cities such as New York and Chicago where heritage restrictions often prevent significant changes to the exterior of buildings. The company believes the combined products from the eLstar joint venture will suit the restoration market, enabling refitting of existing windows without a need for expensive and complex wiring.

NEXT Energy Technologies is a Santa Barbara, California company developing transparent energy harvesting window technology that allows architects and building owners to transform windows and glass facades into producers of low-cost, on-site, renewable energy for buildings. In June 2021, the firm raised $13.4 million in a Series C round of funding backed by strategic investors, including Alon Blue Square Israel, Ltd., GEAR Innovation Network and Viracon, a leading architectural glass fabricator and subsidiary of Apogee Enterprises, a provider of architectural glass, aluminum framing systems, and installation services for commercial buildings around the world.

Ubiquitous Energy is another Californian developer of transparent smart window technology which harvests solar energy and serves as an invisible, onboard source of electricity. Its UE Power coating technology can be applied to the surface of window glass to provide electricity generation and energy efficiency while remaining visibly indistinguishable from the fully transparent standard windows on the market today. Originally spun out of MIT in 2011, Ubiquitous Energy is now producing its transparent solar cells and windows in its production facility in Silicon Valley.

In March 2021, Ubiquitous Energy secured a strategic equity investment of $8M from ENEOS Holdings, an energy resource and materials company in Asia. The investment represents an initial close of Ubiquitous Energy’s Series B financing round and will help support the company’s go-to-market strategy and production efforts, helping to bring its UE Power window products to market in the US and internationally.

GTM Media recently reported that BIPV applications that are entirely integrated into a building’s design will likely take more than a decade to achieve full industry buy-in. But shorter-term opportunities for PV windows and vertical façade applications are on the horizon and these four companies may well be the frontrunners in providing such solutions.

Most Popular Articles

Spacewell Nemetschek Group
Smart Buildings

Spacewell Smart Building Management Business & Financials 2022 Examined

In this Research Note, we examine Spacewell, part of the Manage segment of Nemetschek, which provides software for the management and operations phase in the building lifecycle. This article is based on their 2022 annual results, investor presentations, the Annual Report of the parent company, published on 23rd March 2023 and the group’s strategy in […]

Net Zero Buildings Balfour Hospital
Energy

Net Zero Buildings Explored – The Balfour Hospital

The Balfour Hospital in Kirkwall, on the remote Scottish islands of Orkney, has established itself as the first fully net-zero National Health Service (NHS) hospital in the UK in 2019. The £65 million facility, designed to accommodate 49 patients, has pioneered an innovative and sustainable approach to design, construction, and operation processes. Delivered by the […]

CXApp SPAC
Smart Buildings

Smart Building SPAC Trend Continues with Hybrid Work Play CXApp

Since 2019 the business world has been inundated with high-profile SPAC deals. And while we have certainly seen a slowdown in SPAC deals in recent months, the SPAC trend is by no means over. In the smart building industry, a new SPAC was completed this month, as workplace experience platform provider CXApp completed a business […]

Subscribe to the Newsletter & get all our Articles & Research Delivered Straight to your Inbox.

Please enter a valid email

Please enter your name

Please enter company name

By signing up you agree to our privacy policy