SolarWindow Technologies Develops Flexible Glass That Generates Electricity

SolarWindow Technologies, Inc. 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 manufacturing processes used by commercial glass and window producers. As a result, they succeeded in obtaining an electricity-generating glass 'coating' that can be bent as thin as a business card. SolarWindow envisions installing these electricity-generating glass sheets on the windows of existing skyscrapers, transforming entire buildings into vertical power generators, and reducing carbon footprint. The same coatings can be applied to flat and curved surfaces on automobiles, trucks, buses, aircraft and vessels to generate electrical energy. "Beyond SolarWindow™ liquid coatings, we are excited to expand our capabilities by using flexible Corning Willow Glass to develop new electricity generation methods applicable to virtually any surface imaginable," said John Conklin, President and CEO of SolarWindow, continuing, "With this new and innovative technology, we are creating a clear vision for the future." SolarWindow™ products are being developed under a Collaborative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The fundamental development objective of the CRADA is commercialization of SolarWindow™ products. "Generating electricity on flexible glass presents obvious commercial opportunities, and this approach is particularly attractive as it also enables high-speed roll-to-roll production capability to maximize manufacturing while reducing production costs," said Dr. Maikel van Hest, senior scientist at the Thin Film Materials Science and Processing Group at NREL.