ClearVue announces coating breakthrough for energy-generating solar glass

Australian building-integrated PV (BIPV) specialist ClearVue Technologies has announced a manufacturing breakthrough that allows its energy-generating Gen 3 glass units to accept high-performance soft low-emissivity (Low-E) coatings using the same established systems as conventional commercial glazing.

Perth-headquartered ClearVue’s Gen3 solar vision glass product features PV cells integrated into a laminated glass unit designed to generate electricity while maintaining glass transparency. The company said its units can generate more than 50 W of energy per square metre while maintaining up to 80% visible light transmittance.

In a boost to the commercial opportunities for the technology, ClearVue said its glass units can now be coated via a “magnetron sputter-coating process” after the PV cells have been laminated and processed, allowing a Low-E coating to be applied to the finished solar glass units. These coatings help control the amount of solar heat entering a building and are commonly specified across commercial façade projects worldwide.

“This removes a practical barrier for the industry,” ClearVue Chief Executive Officer Doug Hunt said. “It means energy-generating glass can be considered alongside conventional façade products, rather than requiring an entirely separate design or manufacturing process.”

“This is an important step in moving energy-generating façades from a specialist product towards standard commercial practice.”

According to ClearVue, the manufacturing capability allows the coating to be applied on surface 4, the room-facing side of the double-glazed unit, where it provides the greatest reduction in solar heat gain.

ClearVue believes it is currently the only BIPV supplier able to offer this capability while also generating renewable energy from the same glazing unit. The company said other BIPV products typically apply the coating on surface 5 of a triple-glazed unit, where thermal performance is reduced.

Hunt said the manufacturing breakthrough makes it easier for the façade industry to adopt energy-generating glazing without changing the way projects are already designed and delivered.

“For energy-generating glass to become widely used, it needs to fit within the systems the industry already understands and trusts,” he said.

“Architects and engineers can continue specifying the performance they need, while glass processors can use their existing production infrastructure. The difference is that the glass can now also generate clean energy for the building.”

ClearVue said it validated the new capability at glass manufacturer AGC Interpane’s facility in Germany, where the Gen 3 Vision Glass units were cleaned, coated and tested using the same production line and settings as conventional float glass, with no changes required to the coating process.

The manufacturing development is part of a series of recent commercial and technical milestones for ClearVue, including securing major international certifications for its Gen 3 Solar Vision Glass and its thermal management junction box.

The company’s ClearVue-Helios rooftop solar panel has also recently been added to the Clean Energy Council’s approved products list, ensuring it can connect to the grid and is eligible for all government grant and subsidy programs.