Pythagoras Solar, a provider of advanced building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) products, announced plans on 18 May 2010 to commercialize the industry“s first energy efficient, transparent and high …
Pythagoras Solar, a provider of advanced building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) products, announced plans on 18 May 2010 to commercialize the industry“s first energy efficient, transparent and high power density photovoltaic glass unit (PVGU). The company“s new technology is the first to combine energy efficiency, solar power generation and aesthetics in a single green building material: a solar window. PVGU products will be available for curtain walls, skylights and windows in the 2H 2010. Pythagoras Solar also announced that it has established formal relationships with Arkema, China Sunergy and Flextronics, who will help Pythagoras Solar to quickly scale its operations as it prepares for commercial production and distribution. Pythagoras Solar curtain walls, skylights and windows simultaneously block solar radiation; concentrate sunlight and convert it into solar power; and deliver a high level of transparency. “Our new PVGU technology finally bridges the gap between energy efficiency and energy generation — enabling the architecture, engineering and construction sectors to accelerate the deployment of cost-effective distributed power generation and to advance aesthetically-pleasing Net Zero Energy Buildings”, said Gonen Fink, co-founder and CEO, Pythagoras Solar. Research firm NanoMarkets forecasts the global BIPV market to exceed USD 8 billion by 2015. Pythagoras Solar has raised a total of USD 11 million in seed and venture capital funding to date, including USD 10 million in a Series A funding round led by Israel Cleantech Ventures to invest in R&D and product commercialization. “Pythagoras Solar“s approach to BIPV is unique and overcomes barriers to adoption for the architecture, engineering and construction community”, said Meir Ukeles, partner, Israel Cleantech Ventures. “As the solar PV market matures, we expect that BIPV will represent a much larger portion of new distributed generation installations given the volume of available square footage for PVGU installations”. Founded in 2007, Pythagoras Solar is positioned at the intersection of energy efficient building materials and photovoltaics (PV). The company provides building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) products that enable the architecture, engineering and construction sectors to design buildings with increased energy efficiency, renewable power generation and appealing aesthetics, thereby increasing real estate value.