UbiQD, Inc. installs its electricity-generating windows in area commercial buildings. Courtesy/UbiQD
The team that installed UbiQD’s electricity-generating windows in area commercial buildings. Courtesy/UbiQD
BUSINESS News:
UbiQD, Inc., a Los Alamos-based advanced materials company, announced today that it has now installed its electricity-generating windows in three commercial building sites.
The buildings, which now feature quantum dot-tinted glass luminescent solar concentrator technology, include the Holiday Inn Express hotel and UbiQD’s Headquarters in Los Alamos as well as a collaborative project at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colo.
These building pilot installations represent the first real-world tests for UbiQD, and some of the earliest and largest known luminescent concentrator window installations in the world. The trials aim to validate the importance of parameters like window orientation, time of day, seasonality, temperature, and manufacturing and installation methods.
The double pane insulated glass units can be installed in most existing frame constructions, and were made with support from local window manufacturer, GlazTech Industries in Albuquerque, NM. “We love working with the UbiQD team, it’s been fun to watch them advance this exciting new technology,” GlazTech Regional Manager Dominic Otero said.
In late 2018, UbiQD was awarded a phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF), which provided $750,000 in funding over two years to scale up. In 2020 and 2021, NSF awarded UbiQD supplemental grants totaling $660,000 for UbiQD’s continued window development, and pilot projects. The company’s solar window program has also received support from NMEDD, U.S. DOE, and Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator IN2 Program, and in late 2020 the company announced the close of a $7M venture financing.
“My partners and I are excited to be at the forefront of energy technology and building-integrated sustainability, and frankly we were lucky to have the opportunity,” Brian Patrick Martin said, co-owner of the Holiday Inn Express and Suites Los Alamos. “The window upgrade was part of our recent $2.4 million, Formula Blue renovation and I know our guests will enjoy the solar-powered pancakes for breakfast.”
UbiQD intends to accelerate the deployment of its quantum dot window technology in 2022. Additional window projects are planned in New Mexico, Colorado, and Washington State.
About UbiQD, Inc.
UbiQD (pronounced ‘ubiquity’) is an advanced materials company powering impactful innovation in agriculture, clean energy, and security. Our quantum dots enable products that harness the power of color and light. Headquartered in Los Alamos, New Mexico, UbiQD is licensing technology developed at leading research institutions, including Los Alamos National Laboratory, M.I.T., University of Washington, and Western Washington University. To learn more, please visit: https://www.ubiqd.com
