ClearVue wins A$700,000 US Govt grant for solar glass tech

Perth-based smart building materials company ClearVue Technologies has secured a US$500,000 (A$712,450) grant from the United States Department of Energy (DOE) to accelerate its push into the American market.

In partnership with North American solar manufacturer Silfab Solar, the company will use the funds to advance its high-efficiency building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) spandrel technology.

The grant supports a US Department of Energy (DOE) initiative titled “Development of High Efficiency Silicon Solar Spandrels”, which aims to combine ClearVue’s expertise in solar-integrated architectural glazing with Silfab’s significant photovoltaic manufacturing capabilities. The scope covers technical development, performance validation, and evaluation of viable US manufacturing pathways.

The DOE-backed project lands as the United States seeks to push solar power generation beyond conventional rooftops and into the fabric of buildings. The department has identified façades, windows, skylights, spandrels and other architectural elements as potential platforms for BIPV, while federal programs have targeted innovation and domestic solar manufacturing.

‘With our Hong Kong operation now established and increasing international opportunities, we’re taking our technology to a global market.’

ClearVue chief executive officer and managing director Doug Hunt

This initial US$500,000 phase is designated for testing and demonstration at the advanced Silfab Solar Manufacturing Facility in Burlington, Washington, focusing closely on the structural hurdles of merging module production with commercial glass facade installation.

ClearVue’s solar spandrel technology is designed to transform the traditionally passive and opaque sections of a building’s façade into active, energy-generating surfaces, all while maintaining architectural design integrity and thermal performance.

In a modern glass curtain wall system, the spandrel zone is the opaque section of the façade located between the head of one window and the sill of the window on the floor above. Spandrel panels can account for a substantial proportion of a modern high-rise building’s external walls, yet traditionally do little more than provide insulation and conceal structural elements. ClearVue’s technology aims to turn that under-utilised real estate into productive, electricity-generating surfaces.

While it looks like seamless passive glazing from the street, ClearVue’s solar spandrel system integrates directly into standard framing platforms, actively resolving the intense engineering conflicts of a modern curtain wall - extreme thermal stress, venting, fire compliance and weather sealing - while also generating up to 200 watts per square metre of solar power.

ClearVue says its collaboration with Silfab offers a major opportunity, allowing it to refine its technology for US market requirements, including product integration, performance testing and manufacturing evaluation.

ClearVue’s new partnership also dovetails neatly with Silfab’s own expansion of its US manufacturing base. The expansion includes a reported US$150 million (A$214M) investment to establish a flagship solar cell and module manufacturing facility in York County, South Carolina, expected to create up to 800 jobs.

ClearVue says a move into US manufacturing could also generate additional licensing revenue from its proprietary junction box and some of its other proprietary technologies, fitting in with the company’s capital-light business model of licensing out its intellectual property to established original equipment manufacturers.

ClearVue chief executive officer and managing director Doug Hunt said: “This is another significant milestone for ClearVue and further recognition of our technology on the international stage. Securing support through the US Department of Energy, alongside an established American solar manufacturer, reinforces the growing international recognition of ClearVue’s technology and its potential to transform the way buildings generate energy.”

The US government grant is another feather in ClearVue’s cap, following the recent opening of its regional headquarters and showroom in Hong Kong to support growth in Asia.

The company has been building significant commercial momentum, reporting a pipeline of open proposals valued at more than A$60 million as of October last year. It has already secured its first European commercial project in Cyprus and has been confirmed as the successful tenderer for the new Sydney headquarters of global design powerhouse Canva.

This latest grant is more than just a handy cash injection. It serves as a powerful endorsement from the US government, placing ClearVue’s technology squarely within a major federal push to bring solar power generation into the very skin of American buildings.

With a heavyweight manufacturing partner in Silfab Solar by its side and a potential US production line being explored on Uncle Sam’s dime, this Perth innovator appears to be getting a serious leg-up into one of the world’s largest markets.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au