| NSF Org: |
TI Translational Impacts |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | March 9, 2018 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | October 6, 2021 |
| Award Number: | 1758697 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Benaiah Schrag
bschrag@nsf.gov (703)292-8323 TI Translational Impacts TIP Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships |
| Start Date: | March 1, 2018 |
| End Date: | February 28, 2022 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $750,000.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $1,409,999.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2020 = $159,999.00 FY 2021 = $500,000.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
134 EASTGATE DR LOS ALAMOS NM US 87544-3336 (505)310-6767 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
134 Eastgate Dr Los Alamos NM US 87544-3304 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | SBIR Phase II |
| Primary Program Source: |
01002021DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01002122DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.084 |
ABSTRACT
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to extend the function of windows by turning them into daytime sources of electricity. The target market for this technology is tall buildings in urban areas, where electricity demand is the highest and the available space for installing solar cells is smallest. This technology utilizes a window tint that can absorb sunlight and remit light of a certain color through the window's glass to small solar cells located at the edges. This technology hasn't been commercialized previously because most tint materials typically absorb their own emitted light, limiting efficiency. This project will provide a novel solution to these problems with a low-cost window tint material made from quantum dots. The work conducted in this project focuses on scaling up prototypes and optimization for cost and reliability. With this technology, tall buildings will approach net-zero energy consumption or even supply electricity to the grid. This would reduce the city's carbon footprint as well as save money for the companies/individuals occupying these buildings, which would increase their prosperity and welfare. This technology would also reduce pollution by limiting the amount of burned fossil fuels needed to generate electricity.
The proposed project develops and scales up the electricity-generating window prototypes to the square meter size, validates long-term reliability, optimizes for manufacturing, and launches pilot projects. The technology is based on luminescent solar concentrators, which are made by tinting a window with a fluorophore material that partially absorbs sunlight and then converts it to fluorescence, preferably in the near-infrared. The fluorescence is trapped inside the window by total internal reflection and is concentrated to the edges where small solar cells efficiently convert that light into electricity. Utilizing this technology in windows to generate electricity has not been commercialized due to unsuitable fluorophores. The fluorophore used in this project are quantum dots composed of CuInSeS/ZnS, which solves the problems of previous materials. Traditional fluorophores like dyes typically have strong self-absorption, narrow spectral absorption, and poor stability. Quantum dots are more stable, but are expensive, sometimes toxic (due to heavy metals), and also suffer from self-absorption. The breakthrough in CuInSeS/ZnS quantum dots is that they are significantly cheaper, avoid toxic elements, have near-infrared fluorescence optimal for low-cost commercial solar cells, and do not self-absorb. At the conclusion of the phase II project, prototype products will be installed in at least one building.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
As we conclude this extremely productive and successful NSF SBIR effort, its worthwhile to take a step back and talk about where we were when the phase I proposal was submitted versus where we are today with the phase IIB project being completed. When we first proposed the work, we had not demonstrated a glass-based LSC beyond a rudimentary coating on a glass slide. We had two full-time employees, and leased a small lab. We had only made prototypes up to about 5" x 5", and they were monolithic LMA-polymer based, which is not industrially used. We had not measured any full device efficiency, nor developed any electronics. It was hard to imagine doing pilot projects.
Shortly after we won the award, we made the first working prototype out of popsicle sticks that was only about 6"x6". Today, we have installed full size glass windows up to 50" x 50" and quantified real-world performance in multiple test conditions. We have developed the electronics hardware to monitor performance and charge an internal battery. Our team exceeds 25 full-time employees and we own a 9,000 facility in Los Alamos. We've raised more than $8M of outside capital, and we have developed an entirely new large area LSC fabrication method with industrial polymers that shows excellent aesthetics.
Thanks to the NSF support we have had a major upgrade in both the company and our technology. In fact, we have created an entirely new field with glass-based quantum dot luminescent concentrator solar windows. In the final months we focused mainly on scale up and pilot projects. To that end, we are manufacturing and shipping materials in 55 gallon drums, and installing windows in several commercial buildings. The project was highly successful and we intend to launch the first commercial product, a smart window retrofit, in the next 12 months.
Last Modified: 03/03/2022
Modified by: Hunter Mcdaniel
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