NSG Group (Nippon Sheet Glass, Co. Ltd. ), one of the world’s largest manufacturers of glass and glazing products for the architectural, automotive and technical glass sectors, has announced a joint development agreement between its subsidiary and Ubiquitous Energy, a leader in transparent solar technology. The ongoing joint development work targets the development, manufacture, and integration of Ubiquitous Energy’s ClearView Power™ technology into architectural window glass that has the potential to produce solar electricity for buildings. NSG’s participation includes ongoing research and development (R&D) and technical support.
Ubiquitous Energy’s transparent solar coating, ClearView Power™, selectively absorbs and converts non-visible light (ultraviolet and infrared) to electricity while transmitting visible light. This makes ClearView Power technology the only truly transparent solar product, allowing any surface to convert ambient light into useful electricity without impacting the way it looks. The transparent solar coating can be applied directly to architectural windows during the standard glass manufacturing process, allowing buildings to generate their own onsite renewable energy as part of the building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) market. Additionally, ClearView Power™ blocks infrared solar heat, improving the energy efficiency of buildings, which in combination with energy generation can lead to zero net energy buildings and beyond.
“Having worked with Ubiquitous Energy for some time now, we have been impressed with ClearView Power’s differentiation amongst BIPV products and in particular its proven ability to meet the aesthetic demands of mass market glazing products that are acceptable to architects, designers, and occupants,” said Stephen Weidner, NSG Vice President Sales and Marketing Architectural and Technical Glass Products. “We have witnessed first-hand the company’s steady progress towards commercialization and we look forward to working together closely with Ubiquitous to bring this technology to the market.”
“As we continue to build our ecosystem of partnerships across the glass industry, we are thrilled to work with NSG to help bring ClearView Power™ to market as part of the more than nine billion square meters per year of annual global glass production,” said Ubiquitous Energy CEO Keith Wilson. “NSG brings a wealth of unique knowledge to our development efforts as a global leader in advanced architectural window glass products that also has experience bringing BIPV products to market. We have hit a number of key milestones together over the past year and are excited to publicly announce this partnership.”