Firm Develops Electricity-Generating Flexible Glass

January 26, 2017

SolarWindow Technologies, Inc., a firm that develops transparent electricity-generating coatings for glass windows and flexible veneers, has announced plans to develop electricity-generating flexible glass.

SolarWindow scientists and engineers recently applied layers of the company’s liquid coatings to Corning Willow Glass and laminated them under conditions that simulate the high pressure and temperatures of the manufacturing processes used by commercial glass and window producers. The result is a bendable glass “veneer,” as thin as a business card, that generates electricity.

SolarWindow anticipates installing these sheets of electricity-generating glass veneers over existing skyscraper windows, turning entire buildings into vertical power generators and helping reduce their carbon footprint. These same veneers could be applied to flat and curved surfaces on automobiles, trucks, buses, airplanes, and boats to generate onboard electrical power.

“Along with our SolarWindow liquid coatings for rigid glass, we’re excited to expand our capabilities with brand new ways of generating clean electricity on almost any surface imaginable by using flexible Corning Willow Glass,” says John Conklin, SolarWindow President and CEO. “As leaders in the sector, we’re setting out a clear vision for the future with this new, innovative technology.”

SolarWindow products are being developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) under a cooperative research and development agreement. The primary development goal of the agreement is to commercialize SolarWindow products.

“While generating electricity on flexible glass presents obvious commercial opportunities, this approach is especially attractive to high-speed roll-to-roll manufacturing for maximizing output while lowering production costs,” says Dr. Maikel van Hest, a senior scientist in the Thin Film Material Science and Processing Group within the NREL’s Material Science Center.