Dyesol to Collaborate with Pilkington North America on BIPV

March 8, 2010
www.dyesol.com



Dyesol Inc., a 100% subsidiary of Dyesol Industries Pty Limited, is collaborating with Pilkington North America to develop opportunities in the building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) market place utilizing Pilkington’s TEC series of transparent conductive oxide (TCO) coated float glass and Dyesol’s dye solar cell (DSC) materials and technology.

The global market for flat glass is forecast to be approximately 6 billion m2 for 2010 and growing at 5% per annum. Initially, the collaboration will seek to address the non-view glass market, known as spandrel, which accounts for 40% of the total flat glass market. Beyond spandrel, addressing the larger view glass market is also a key objective and that is expected to be supported by a number of other regional collaborations, particularly programs to introduce new dyes and DSC systems.

Dyesol has a clearly defined strategic objective to partner with best-in-class commercialization partners who have access to global markets in the sectors of steel, glass, auto and electronics. The collaboration with Pilkington is entirely consistent with this strategic objective.

“Pilkington believes it is time to begin developing the next generation of photovoltaic power,” said Pilkington’s Stephen Weidner, senior vice president of building products for North America. “BIPV is an emerging market segment with great opportunity for utilizing our TCO technology to bring photovoltaic power into building design.”

“The collaboration with Dyesol has the potential to bring a significant change in the value of architectural glass as we know it today. No longer will glass be viewed solely for its insulation and aesthetic properties, but for its power generating potential as well,” Weidner adds.

“Pilkington is the world leader in the production of TCO glass. In fact, Dyesol and their customers have been utilizing Pilkington’s TEC product for many years. This collaboration presents an ideal platform for co-developing and optimizing products that work together to improve DSC performance,” says Marc M. Thomas, CEO of Dyesol Inc. “With at least 40 per cent of all electrical energy consumed in the U.S. used in the built environment, the market opportunity is enormous.”

Dr. Gavin Tulloch, the global managing director and co-founder of Dyesol Ltd. comments, “DSC technology can best be described as ‘artificial photosynthesis’. It uses an electrolyte, a layer of titania semiconductor (a pigment used in white paints and toothpaste) deposited on transparent conductive oxide glass, metal or polymer substrates which is then soaked in a ruthenium based organic dye. Light striking the dye excites electrons which are injected into the titania to become an electric current many times stronger than that found in natural photosynthesis in plants.

Dyesol’s technology has lower cost and embodied energy in manufacture than competing technologies, produces electricity more efficiently over the normal light spectrum and the glass based products can be directly incorporated into buildings by replacing conventional glass.”