Australian solar PV integrated window technology gains US approval

Australian integrated building materials company ClearVue says it has won approval to market its innovative PV integrated window materials in the US, opening up a huge market opportunity for the Australian developed technology.

ASX-listed ClearVue said on Friday that its solar PV IGU product had received certification from testing authority UL. The certification allows the company to begin selling the window materials, which have solar PV cells integrated into clear glass, into international markets including the United States.

ClearVue has developed an innovative window design that allows visible light to pass through the glass and into a building, while invisible infrared and ultra-violet light is directed to solar cells that run along the edge of the windows.

ClearVue design can be used as window glass for buildings, allowing comparable light transmission compared to standard windows, while also producing up to 30 watts per square metre of electricity generation.

While the amount of electricity generated by the windows is small compared to dedicated solar PV modules, the company anticipates the window designs will allow for clean electricity to be produced in locations otherwise unsuitable for solar PV installations.

The company noted that the technology was able to successfully receive certification for US sale, despite relatively unique features of the glass products.

“The ClearVue PV IGU combines both glazing and solar into one product and is unlike anything the UL have had to deal with before,” ClearVue executive chairman Victor Rosenberg said in a statement.

“Notwithstanding this, the UL with ClearVue’s assistance, were able to design a very detailed and rigorous testing protocol that has tested all aspects of the product in relation to both its safety and performance with the product meeting all such requirements.

“The UL certification of the ClearVue product is a major achievement for the company and is to date the most important step forward in ClearVue’s commercialisation path – clearing the way for product sales into the USA and other territories.”

ClearVue has previously trialled the integrated PV window design at the Warwick Grove shopping centre in Western Australia, replacing some of the centre’s windows with the ClearVue windows.

The company is currently pursuing IEC certification, which would allow the company to market the solar PV integrated glass in Europe.