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US startup Next Energy said its 40-inch x 60-inch energy-generating laminated transparent windows were produced using its pilot production line. Next Energy Technologies, a California-based organic photovoltaics (OPV) startup, has unveiled what it claims to be the worlds largest fully transparent organic photovoltaic window. The 40 x 60 energy-generating laminated clear window was manufactured on the companys pilot production line. The window is constructed of a substrate, a transparent OPV layer, an edge seal, a bus bar, a junction box and a cover glass. Next Energy uses automated slot-die coating manufacturing techniques to apply its proprietary OPV directly to glass. The company’s coatings are placed on the glass and a laser is used to scribe the OPV layer before it is laminated. “Our highly refined process is a versatile deposition technique where a solution is applied to a substrate through a narrow slot located close to the surface,” the company explains. Glass manufacturers can add this process to their current manufacturing capacity. “This milestone is further proof to an industry hungry for solutions that our combination of OPV coatings and advanced manufacturing processes works, scales and can be deployed quickly,” said Daniel Emmett, co-founder, executive chairman and CEO of NEXT. “It is further proof of our confidence in our path to 152cm x 304cm commercial production.” Last year, the company demonstrated 68cm x 89cm OPV windows that it claimed offset 20% to 25% of the energy load of a typical commercial building. “The windows also absorb and convert infrared light, reducing the building’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) demand,” the company said at the time. |
