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RENEWABLE ENERGY | ClearVue PV
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RENEWABLE ENERGY | ClearVue PV
ClearVue PV’s executive chairman Victor Rosenberg first considered working in the building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) space a few years after the company was formed in 1995, when it operated under its former name Tropiglas Technologies. The company’s core product offering is at its simplest highly energy efficient, ultra clear glass that generates electricity via solar technology. After working with organic materials within its prototype product, the company endured a number of setbacks before changing direction to focus on progressing a new advanced glazing solution. Fast forward to 2018 and after many years of refining its technology, ClearVue is close to officially launching a smart building material product that could disrupt some of the world’s biggest industries.
The interlayer contains inorganic nanoparticles, which fortifies the product and also converts ultraviolet (UV) light to the lower infrared range. “We keep the heat out and allow the visible light to go through. We then direct the infrared towards the edges by various mechanisms,” says Rosenberg. The reflected light is collected by photovoltaic cells at the edges of the glass, which currently produces 30W of energy per square metre of material, however the company expects to improve this to 50W per square metre with further research and development effort. In fact, the company has recently announced a significant new development to its technology, in that the solar cells can now be built into the entire structure, instead of just at the edges of the glass. This effectively widens the range of uses into additional markets and represents a key breakthrough for ClearVue’s technical team. “The whole product and technology is contained within a glass structure as an Integrated Glass Unit (IGU), so that you can’t actually get to the solar cells or the mechanisms inside the glass panel,” says
The process of developing the company’s
Rosenberg. “The expected life is about 25
solar glass product has been an arduous
years and the solar cells are the only part of
one that has taken a great deal of brain
the unit that would deteriorate very slowly
power and trial and error to get to where it
(0.25% pa) over time.”
is now according to Rosenberg, who explains that the basic concept revolves around an
A clear future
activated interlayer that sits between two
ClearVue is not the only company operating
panes of glass.
in the BIPV sector and the technology has already been applied to many buildings and
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RENEWABLE ENERGY | ClearVue PV structures around the world, so why does Rosenberg believe his solar glass is superior to rival products on the market? The answer lies in the fact that the technology is completely transparent and therefore doesn’t compromise aesthetics, while the solar glass is also product integrated and building integrated. Rosenberg believes there is no standard for both as of yet but hopes to change this once the certification process is completed. “We are hopefully going to be the first person to do both, in terms of it being a building material and a building product. It’s a glass structure, like normal glass except it has activity within the product.
Resource Global Network “One of my big statements has always been
The company is targeting big businesses in
that our technology presents a paradigm shift the construction and agriculture industries, in the way glass will be used in the building,
as these are the companies that will be
construction, automobile and agricultural
placed under scrutiny with regards to
industries, because the glass will no longer
compliance with energy efficiency legislation
just be a component of construction, it will
and particularly those in Europe after 2021
also be a renewable energy resource and that when a new set of super-efficiency guidelines really is the crux.�
come into effect.
products from multiple industries is
A self-powering greenhouse
being shaped largely by new rules and
In the agriculture industry, ClearVue wants
regulations introduced by sustainability-
to introduce a 100% self-sustainable
focused governments around the world, and
greenhouse - one that is made from
Rosenberg believes this type of legislation is
glass which allows visible light as well as
going to be ClearVue’s biggest friend.
photosynthetically active radiation (amount
Increasing clamour for energy efficient
of light available for photosynthesis), but also produces energy onsite to power the greenhouse.
RENEWABLE ENERGY | ClearVue PV Last year, the Federal Government of Australia granted ClearVue $1.6 million to build this world-first greenhouse that incorporates the company’s high-tech product. “They see the advantages like we do and it’s not easy to get money from governments, but they see that there is a clear advantage here. “In fact, wherever you go around the world, the biggest issue is food security,” Rosenberg continues. Already the company has received lots of interest from many areas of the world, all of which are looking for food security. ClearVue is working with industry partners and horticultural scientists to deliver the energy efficient greenhouse, which has recently passed the stage of preliminary drawings for the pilot project. “The reason that we want to work with these industry and scientific partners is because the outcomes need to be from an independent third party, not from us. The independent third party needs to publish the results and confirm what we are claiming.” Corroboration of a demonstration project from a reputable third party source is important for ClearVue as this essentially acts as the company’s salesman and is a key point of promotion for its product around the world. Furthermore, the company is planning to build several other live units in the coming months, including things such as bus shelters
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RENEWABLE ENERGY | ClearVue PV
and super-tech touch screens. “We can talk
along with European standards accreditation
till the cows come home, but these live units
for our window product. We are looking
are our salesmen,” quips Rosenberg.
now to do the US and by the end of the
The commercialisation process
year we will have some products that are fully certified, hopefully in most parts of the world.”
By the time of publish, ClearVue will have started producing units of its industry-
Rosenberg also reveals that he has held
changing solar glass product, with the first
meaningful discussions with around half a
units off the line certified in Australia and
dozen big companies from the UK, France,
Europe
Belgium and Spain after a recent trip to Europe. “They are all very keen to move
“We have just received Australian standards
forward,” he says.
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“My motto is: Our vision is powering the
agriculture as well,” concludes a confident
future. I’ve always believed that energy and
Rosenberg.
the environment are the two most important areas that one needs to focus on.
You can catch the launch of ClearVue’s product at Fenestration Australia 2018 in
“We will definitely be a player in the global
September, Glasstec conference in Germany
construction industry, the BIPV energy
during October and at Greenbuild Expo 2018
efficiency and even in the automobile
in the US in November.
industry we will play a part and of course
ASX:CPV
a j
Published by Anderson Murray Media Ltd
To tell the resource market your story, contact: editorial@resourceglobalnetwork.com
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