Ubiquitous Energy aims to turn skyscrapers into vertical solar farms
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Ubiquitous Energy installed solar energy capture windows at Michigan State University.
Ubiquitous Energie
An innovative material science company. Ubiquitous EnergyTo turn windows into surface that can capture solar energy,, has raised tens to millions of dollars. California’s start-up, Luminarium announced Tuesday that it has closed a $30 Million funding round. It also included an investment from the consumer glass and door manufacturer giant. Andersen CorporationIts total funding has now reached $70 millions.
Ubiquitous creates a solar window coating that converts sunlight to electricity using semiconducting material. Nanometers thick, the coating connects the solar window with electrical systems that use the power.
CNBC spoke with Susan Stone, CEO of Ubiquitous. She stated that the pre-revenue firm will make use of any funding available to conduct manufacturing research and develop new products. Stone stated that Ubiquitous hopes to produce at scale in the early 2024.
Stone stated that once they reach there they will be able “to make floor-to-ceiling glass.” We can transform skyscrapers in vertical solar farms.
Ubiquitous targets also the residential sector, making the Anderson investment even more strategic. Anderson is not a public company so it doesn’t share its financials. But, CNBC did hear that the company had revenue exceeding $3B in 2021.
Anderson particularly liked Ubiquitous’ clear, unobtrusive integration into the window frame.
Prabhakar KP (Karri) and Karl Halling wrote that there were many competing solar windows technologies in development. However, they all have compromises in transparency. They also offer viewing areas obstructions, haze or energy efficiency. This makes it difficult for customers to consider them alternatives to standard windows.
Stone is aware that honesty is the key for success.
Stone said, “They need to be indistinguishable form traditional windows. Otherwise we won’t see mass deployment.” “Aesthetics are our guide light.”
Window glass that is regular and not etched can be 30% more expensive
This $30 million capital raise will help the company make it ready for manufacturing after more than a decade’s work. Ubiquitous, which was established in 2011, was the result of research and development by engineers and scientists at Michigan State University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Since that time, investors and customers have become more convinced of the urgency of tackling climate change. Ubiquitous and its investors are relying on this sense of urgency to spur demand for its product despite its higher cost — the solar-electricity window panels are projected to be about 30% more expensive than regular glass that goes into windows once production gets to scale, Stone told CNBC.
Additionally, solar glass performs less efficiently than traditional solar panels which can operate at up to 80% efficiency. 22% efficiency — a measurement of the amount of sunlight that falls on the surface of a solar panel and is converted into electricity.
Ubiquitous currently has a window for research and development that offers about 10% efficiency or about half the efficiency of traditional solar, Stone stated. However, its theoretical maximums may be about twice as efficient as regular solar panels.
The reason windows produce lower efficiency than solar panels, is because they are vertically mounted, while solar panel frames lay horizontally. They can thus collect more direct sunlight.
Stone stated, “But we enable surface that wasn’t generating power yet to generate electricity.” The glass is passive and has been for a long time. But we are making it active.
Ubiquitous energy windows were installed at Boulder Commons, Colorado.
Photo credit to Ubiquitous Energy
Ubiquitous aims to install one billion square feet worldwide of its glass window glass by 2050.
Stone sees the challenge ahead and recognizes that it is an ambitious goal.
The things that keep you awake at night is “Can we meet the production schedule?” Will we be able to find the right location for manufacturing that will allow us to start work in our timeline? “Will the ramp to production be as easy as we hope?
Stone’s current focus is to execute architectural glass. However, this is only one part of a larger vision.
Stone explained that Stone believes there are amazing uses for our technology in many different industries such as agriculture, consumer electronics and automobiles. We’re not content with just windows.
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