ClearVue inks solar strip module supply deal with BeyondPV

From pv magazine Australia 

ASX-listed solar window developer ClearVue has signed a memorandum of understanding with Taiwanese manufacturer BeyondPV to design, manufacture and supply solar PV strip modules for use in its insulated glass units (IGUs), windows and smart façades.

Under the agreement, BeyondPV will invest about US $3.5 million to establish a dedicated production line to produce solar PV strip modules. The Tainan-based manufacturing facility will also carry out research and development activities to improve ClearVue’s products and technology during the supply term and both companies will work together to maximise solar strip shipments for ClearVue and its licensees.

The target of shipment volumes in 2020 is to be greater than 200,000 strips. The MoU represents “a significant step forward” for ClearVue in ensuring the supply of a key component of the IGUs it uses in solar windows.

The solar strip cells are applied around the edges of the IGUs, while the lamination interlayer between the glass uses ClearVue’s patented proprietary nano and micro particles incorporated into a polyvinyl butyral interlayer, as well as its spectral selective coating on the rear external surface.

The glass allows a remarkable 70% of the visible light to pass through all layers. Meanwhile, 90% or more of ultraviolet and infrared light is reflected off the spectrally selective film, and scattered by the inorganic nanoparticles to the edges of the glass where it is collected by CIGS cells that produce electricity.

“BeyondPV’s investment into production facilities for creating the ClearVue solar strip modules, a critical component in the ClearVue IGU design and products, is a wonderful testament to the commitment that BeyondPV has demonstrated in the ClearVue product and our vision for solar PV generating smart windows and façades,” ClearVue Executive Chairman Victor Rosenberg said.

BeyondPV President Wei-Lun Lu added: “We have a dedicated team of world-leading solar specialists who have over the last few months, while working with ClearVue leading up to the signing of this MOU, have got to know the company, its technology and vision and are on board to work with ClearVue to grow this significant new opportunity together.”

The deal is the latest in a series of milestones for ClearVue. In January, the Perth-based company completed its first commercial application – an energy-generating glass atrium at the entrance of a shopping center in Perth. The atrium panels at Vicinity Centers’ Warwick Grove Shopping Centre charge a battery that then powers the structure’s lighting, outside signage and a display screen inside the centre that provides information on power generated, energy saved and carbon offsets.

Last year, ClearVue signed an agreement with Perth-based yStop to integrate its transparent PV panels into yStop’s illuminated street signs and bus-stop structures.