Ubiquitous Energy & the technology it’s developing

Ubiquitous Energy, a startup spun out of MIT, is focused on developing transparent solar technology. The core of their technology is selectively harvesting only non-visible light, which allows them to make solar materials that are nearly invisible. The idea behind their technology is to remove the visual constraints of solar panels and make them blend in with their surroundings, allowing for solar deployment in a variety of spaces, including buildings. As buildings are a significant contributor to carbon emissions, the company sees an opportunity to apply their solar materials to the building envelope to generate electricity while still maintaining an aesthetically pleasing appearance. They’ve partnered with Andersen, a leading residential window manufacturer, to bring their technology to market.

The history of Ubiquitous Energy & key milestones

Susan explains that like many deep tech and hard tech companies, it took the company a while to go from the moment of invention in the lab to a viable product. The company was founded in 2011 and Susan joined the team as a board member in 2014 while they were still borrowing time on equipment at MIT to run experiments. At that time, they could only make small solar cells that were see-through but didn’t look like window glass. However, they made progress and reached several milestones, such as moving to Redwood City, California to be closer to Silicon Valley talent, making the technology more efficient in generating electricity, and progressing towards privatization.

Initially, the company planned to focus on consumer electronics, but they received interest from architectural glass and decided to enter the window market. They worked with large glass manufacturers to develop their technology to provide energy efficiency and optical qualities while meeting strict aesthetic requirements. Their decision to focus on the residential market was also a significant milestone, despite the commercial market being more substantial. They believed that homeowners wanted tools for energy efficiency, and saw an opportunity to bring their product to residential homeowners and multifamily housing.

Ubiquitous Energy’s partnership with Andersen was transformational, as they were able to piggyback on Andersen’s legacy of energy efficiency and high-quality windows, which helped them touch the marketplace.

How Andersen Windows & Ubiquitous Energy found each other

KP explains that Andersen Window and Ubiquitous Energy first became aware of each other when Ubiquitous developed a postage stamp-sized prototype in 2013. In 2015 or 2016, Ubiquitous sent some samples to Andersen’s R&D group in Minnesota. While Amazon had been following photovoltaic technology for some time (a proof point), the form factor of the prototype wouldn’t fit in a window. However, Andersen and Ubiquitous stayed in touch. In the summer of 2021, Ubiquitous shipped Andersen an insulated glass unit, which allowed Andersen to see the possibility of using the technology in a window. This was around the same time that Andersen Window’s Andersen Ventures Group was starting up. Andersen Window’s R&D team brought the technology to the attention of the Andersen Ventures Group, which had recently been established. The group did its due diligence, researched existing patents, and made a trip to investigate further. After checking all the boxes, the group decided to move forward with investment and also became a commercial partner with Ubiquitous Energy.

How much could transparent solar contribute to our overall energy needs

Susan believes that transparent solar technology could make an enormous contribution to meeting our global energy needs, in part because humans love to build with glass. Glass has been an essential material in architectural history, and as we continue to progress and build, we continue to incorporate glass in our designs. Approximately 20 billion square feet of glass are installed in buildings every year around the world, and if all of that glass were transformed into active electricity-generating glass, it could offset 10% of global carbon emissions due to the vast surface area. The building stock is expected to double by 2060, which is like adding an entire New York City to the planet every month until then. Therefore, incorporating sustainable building materials and energy-efficient solutions that generate electricity is imperative, and transparent solar technology offers a huge opportunity in this regard. Susan says that failing to take advantage of this opportunity could be a significant loss given the growing building activity that shows no signs of slowing down.

Resources Mentioned

• Ubiquitous Energy
• Andersen Windows

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