New Solar Coating Boosts Energy By 20%

A startup solar coating company, SunDensity has developed a sputtered nano-optical coating for the glass surface of solar panels that boosts the energy yield by 20 percent, achieved by capturing more blue light than standard cells. The development is one of several energy-enhancing or energy-producing coatings in different stages of commercialization within the U.S. solar industry R&D community.

The proprietary SunDensity Photonic Smart Coatings (PSC) is comprised of multiple layers that shift the ultraviolet photons into the infrared using localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), according to a statement by Boston-based SunDensity CEO Nish Sonwalkar. The coating is applied on top of a glass substrate via magnetron sputtering, by creating a plasma to shoot materials onto the glass using a physical vapor deposition chamber.

As part of the development process, the company utilized a Zeiss Scanning Electronic Microscope from the University of Rochester to scan for the characteristic coating nanoparticles that are created from a heat reaction on the multilayer wave-shifting technology.

SunDensity is targeting the establishment of its lab and pilot coating line in the next 8 to 12 months, according to Sonwalkar.

In September, SunDensity received the Company of the Year award and $1 million in investment from New York State through the Finger Lakes Forward Upstate Revitalization Initiative.

The Luminate NY competition is administered by NextCorps, said to be the world’s largest business accelerated for startup firms that focus on optics, photonics, and imaging enabled technologies. 

Strategic Partnerships for Commercialization

The company has forged several strategic partnerships recently to move its product into the commercial stage. In April, SunDensity partnered with PVD Products, based in Boston, to advance the coatings for Schott glass company in the creation of a long-pass filter.

SunDensity will be working with the Nano Powered Research Laboratory (NPRL) labs to simulate solar characteristics of the coatings and gathering data. The company also will be using the Semiconductor & Microsystems Fabrication Laboratory (SMFL) and NPRL labs to continue developing the coatings for client-specific recipes.

SunDensity also has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Singulus Technologies, based in Kahl am Main, Germany to build a custom in-line sputter system for the coatings. The system will be implemented in SunDensity’s new research facility. However, the company also is evaluating other potential locations, including the Eastman Kodak research facility, to set up the R&D sputter systems and other optical instruments.

Other Solar Coatings Advance

A variety of R&D companies have been seeking to develop an easily-applied solar paint or coatings for years.

According to the Solar Action Alliance, “Solar paint, also known as photovoltaic paint, is exactly what it sounds like! It’s a paint that you can apply to any surface that will capture energy from the sun and transform it into electricity. The paint would essentially be your average paint, but with billions of pieces of light-sensitive material suspended in it, material that would transform the typical paint into super-powered energy-capturing paint.”
One key to the commercial use of solar coatings or paint is the relative efficiency of the product.

“Solar paint ranges anywhere from three to eight percent Efficiency is essentially the percentage of the power of the sun’s rays that the technology can capture. If a particular type of solar paint has a five percent efficiency, that means it’s capturing only five percent of the total available solar energy. For comparison sake, traditional silicon solar panels operate at around 18 percent efficiency. Most experts agree that solar technology has to surpass 10 percent efficiency to be viable,” according to the Solar Action Alliance.

Among other solar glass coatings in development is that of SolarWindow Technologies, based in Vestal, New York, a developer of transparent electricity-generating coatings for glass and plastics.

“Only a few weeks ago, we demonstrated our largest and most transparent SolarWindow glass panes generating electricity from sunlight and artificial indoor light,” said Jay Bhogal, the CEO of the company, in an October statement.

SolarWindow coatings generate electricity, producing power under natural, artificial, low, shaded, and reflected light conditions.

The coatings and technologies can be applied to generate electricity on building facades, balcony railings, curtain walls, skylights, and shading systems, as well as automotive, truck, marine and aircraft applications, and consumer products and military uses, the company states. The company technology now has over 90 granted and in-process trademark and patent filings.

Another research project being conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in Golden, Colorado, involves the use of perovskite crystals to create a liquid equivalent to solar panels, which can be sprayed or painted on to many substrates.

One solar paint project that has received funding from The California Sustainable Energy Entrepreneur Development (CalSEED) program is Cypris Materials, which is “developing paintable solar reflective coatings for the built environment to decrease cooling costs, improve energy efficiency, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. They are reinventing color to also eliminate toxic colorants and unlock high-performance optical coatings with its photonic paint technology,” according to a company profile.

CalSEED funds innovative clean energy concepts that are approved by the California Energy Commission (CEC).

Similarly, a project underway at the University of Wellington Victoria’s School of Chemical and Physical Sciences to develop solar paint that can replace solar panels.

The paint is designed to be applied to the roof of a building to better absorb the light needed to power a home using solar energy.

“The paint contains luminescent molecules that absorb and emit light, which directs sunlight towards solar panels,” said Nathaniel Davis, a researcher on the project.

Unlike larger and more expensive solar panels currently available, the University’s solution will involve a single coat of paint and a narrow border of solar panels about the width of a finger.

The combination of roof paint and small panels is designed to generate enough electricity to fully power the home, the researchers said in a recent statement.

Apart from energy-enhancing or energy-generating coatings, much work is underway on coatings for solar glass that reduce soiling.

Among these efforts, Swift Coat, an Arizona State University startup has developed a new vacuum deposition method of spray painting TiO2-based nanomolecules on different types of surfaces, including solar panels.

Solar Coatings Market Expanding

The global market for functional glass coatings for solar panels and electronic screens is expanding rapidly.

According to a recent report by Fortune Business Insights, the global smart glass market size is projected to reach $15.8 billion by the end of 2027.

“The increasing investments in the research and development of low cost and efficient products will bode well for market growth,” the analysts opined.