NEXT Energy Technologies, Inc. has accomplished a milestone toward commercialization of NEXT’s BIPV solution, with the first installation of a commercial facade Powered by NEXT transparent OPV coatings at its headquarters in Santa Barbara, California.
Installation details
The installation features six transparent photovoltaic (PV) windows, each measuring 40 by 60 inches, for a total of 100 square feet of NEXT’s proprietary energy-generating glass. This marks the first installation of a Building Integrated PV (BIPV) facade featuring organic photovoltaic (OPV) coatings developed by NEXT.
Each insulating glass unit (IGU) incorporates NEXT’s OPV coating on the outboard lite and runs cables through the framing system. The windows were fabricated with Low-e coated inboard lites and spacers supplied by Viracon. Walters & Wolf designed, supplied, and installed the framing system as part of the facade integration, showcasing NEXT’s seamless integration into the window fabrication supply chain.
Installed at the company’s Santa Barbara headquarters, the windows now offer architects, developers and industry stakeholders a real-world demonstration of NEXT’s glass in action. Visitors can see the integration of solar technology into a standard commercial facade and observe how the system generates power.
What people are saying
“The successful scaling of NEXT’s OPV technology, both on glass and in facades, takes NEXT and the industry closer to a future of sustainable building design,” says Daniel Emmett, CEO, Executive Chairman, and Co-Founder of NEXT. “We’re incredibly proud of the quality of the coating, the seamless installation, and the power generation performance we’re already seeing from this first facade installation.”
“This is the first of many,” says Jonathan Hafemann, NEXT’s VP, Commercialization & Growth. “We’re thrilled to share this tangible demonstration of our vision for energy-generating facades, and to invite the industry to imagine what’s possible when windows do more than just manage heat gain and U-Value.”
About NEXT'S OPV technology
NEXT’s transparent organic photovoltaic (OPV) technology enables commercial windows to generate solar energy, turning building facades into on-site power sources. This innovation aims to support greater energy efficiency, generate clean power at the point of use, enhance building resilience and help improve grid efficiency.
When integrated into a building, a NEXT OPV facade can generate enough electricity to offset approximately 20–25% of the energy consumption typical of commercial properties while leveraging the existing infrastructure of a commercial facade. By capturing and converting infrared light, the windows also help lower indoor cooling demands, easing the load on HVAC systems.
