New Energy Announces Important 2014 Breakthroughs that Advance SolarWindow™ Towards Market-Ready Products

John Conklin, President and CEO, New Energy Technologies, Inc.

During 2014, New Energy’s electricity-generating coatings achieved major strides and illustrated many advantages over conventional photovoltaic (PV) modules:

• Power production of over 50-times greater than conventional PV solar modules when modeled for installation on tall towers;




• Greenhouse gas benefits of over 10-times greater Carbon Dioxide (CO2) offsets over conventional PV solar modules when modeled for installation on tall towers;




• Generate electricity on see-through glass, enhancing the performance of today’s insulated commercial windows.  Conventional PV solar technologies cannot generate electricity on window glass in this way and cannot remain see-through in order to do so;




• See-through coatings are highly transparent and allow high levels of ‘visible light transmission’.  Conventional solar PV modules do not allow visible light transmission and are not transparent;




• Electricity-generating coatings offer attractive color choices in high demand by commercial glass companies;




• Capable of producing power from natural and artificial light sources in direct, shaded, diffused, and reflected light conditions.  Conventional solar PV works in direct sunlight and typically cannot operate in cloudy weather or in shaded areas;




• Able to generate electricity using artificial light typically found in offices, hotels, and other buildings;




• Does not require expensive high-temperature or high-vacuum manufacturing processes, and is applied at room temperature.  Conventional PV solar processes are very energy intensive, requiring high temperature production, and are expensive;




• Constructed using mostly organic materials (polymers), which can be dissolved into liquid form and applied to a variety of surfaces such as flexible plastics and glass.  Conventional PV solar uses complex materials that cannot be easily dissolved into a low-cost liquid form for manufacturing, and;




• Being developed for high-speed and high-volume manufacturing processes, such as roll-to-roll (R2R) or large area sheet-to-sheet (S2S) equipment.

Earlier this year, New Energy’s largest area, high-performance SolarWindow™ modules were unveiled, with architecturally neutral colors and improved uniformity and efficiency: http://www.newenergytechnologiesinc.com/NENE20140326.

New Energy also set a new record for generating electricity while remaining see-through with over 50% greater power than prior attempts publicized by others: http://www.newenergytechnologiesinc.com/NENE20140508.

On September 16, 2014, SolarWindow™ modules were also shown to Congress during the first-ever National Lab Day on Capitol Hill:

http://www.newenergytechnologiesinc.com/NENE20140930.

The next major technical and development milestones for SolarWindow™ relate to improving power, and high-speed and high-volume processing:

• Continue to bolster electrical power by improving known processes and developing new fabrication techniques;




• Further tune and improve color options and aesthetics important to the commercial glass industry in preparation for commercial deployment;




• Achieve pre-commercial scale-up objectives of SolarWindow™ required by industry, and;




• Formalize R2R and S2S manufacturing processes for industry.

Importantly, these steps relate to the eventual commercialization of SolarWindow™ products – our clear goal. The important advancements made to SolarWindow™ and its further development are integral to securing strategic commercial partnerships, achieving consumer acceptance, and eventually deploying products that meet and exceed industry expectations.

SolarWindow™ is currently under development for eventual commercial deployment in the estimated 80 million detached homes in America and more than five million commercial buildings. The technology is the subject of 42 patent filings, and researchers are on track to advance SolarWindow™ towards the goal of full-scale commercial manufacturability.

To view photographs of New Energy’s latest high performance SolarWindow™ modules, click here.  Additional press releases can be found on our News page.