SANTA BARBARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NEXT Energy Technologies, Inc., makers of a proprietary transparent photovoltaic coating that transforms commercial windows into energy-producing solar panels, announced today that it has raised $13.4 million in a Series C round of funding.
Lead investors in the round include Alon Blue Square Israel, Ltd., a group with major business activities and holdings across the real estate development and management market as well as energy, retail and public transportation sectors, predominantly in Israel; GEAR Innovation Network, the innovation arm of Golden Energy and Resources Ltd., one of the largest vertically-integrated mining, energy and resources groups in Southeast Asia and a part of the Sinar Mas Group; and Viracon, a leading architectural glass fabricator and subsidiary of Apogee Enterprises, a provider of architectural glass, aluminum framing systems, and installation services for commercial buildings around the world. Highly regarded real estate family office Rincon Advisors also participated in the financing.
There is strong strategic alignment between NEXT and its financing partners. The company’s new strategic investors provide NEXT with broad access and insight into the global commercial real estate market and architecture, engineering and construction communities. Investment in NEXT will provide them access to a clear and powerful energy solution that will power our buildings and protect our planet.
“Workplaces of the future must evolve into safer, healthier and more climate-compliant spaces,” said Daniel Emmett, CEO of NEXT. “As we emerge from COVID-19, workers returning to their offices are actively re-evaluating the role offices and buildings play in their lives; and architects, developers and employers are listening.”
The buildings sector accounts for about 76% of electricity use and 40% of all U.S. primary energy use and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according to U.S. government statistics. NEXT has developed low-cost, printable, transparent coatings that are seamlessly integrated into windows, enabling them to function like solar panels – harvesting and converting sunlight into renewable energy to power commercial buildings. Early partners testing demonstration units of the new NEXT photovoltaic windows believe the product can help them gain a competitive advantage and lower operating costs, while simultaneously addressing climate impacts of buildings.
“New building materials and innovative designs are now required to enable buildings to meet net-zero and sustainability requirements. We believe our photovoltaic windows are ideally aligned to support the global energy transition to renewables, and this new funding is accelerating our plans,” Emmett said.
Proceeds from this round of financing are already accelerating the transition to large-area coating for commercialization, pilot installations, durability testing, and industry certification, in preparation for use by leading window manufacturers.
“An undeniable takeaway from 2020 is that health, climate change, and equity are inseparably linked,” said Andy Cohen, CEO of Gensler and a board member at NEXT. “As we move on from lockdown living, the places we occupy must support well-being at an individual level. On a larger scale, buildings must be sustainable, show returns and make positive impacts on their neighborhoods and the global ecosystems to which they contribute. The breakthrough window solutions from NEXT will be a step towards helping us meet that goal,” Cohen continued.
This new round of funding follows the company’s recent selection into the CalTestBed Initiative, a California Energy Commission (CEC) funded effort to speed the commercialization of clean energy technologies. This program is led by New Energy Nexus in partnership with the University of California Office of the President and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
NEXT is one of 25 startup companies selected for this program and receiving CEC support to help the state meet its goal of achieving 100 percent clean energy by 2045. As a participant, NEXT is receiving up to $300,000 in third-party testing to demonstrate and enhance the reliability of the company’s organic photovoltaic modules with experts at UC Santa Barbara’s Optical Characterization facility in Santa Barbara, CA. The program also provides the opportunity to develop commercialization partners and engage potential customers.
About NEXT Energy Technologies, Inc.
NEXT Energy Technologies is a Santa Barbara, California company developing transparent energy harvesting window technology that allows architects and building owners to transform windows and glass facades into producers of low-cost, on-site, renewable energy for buildings. NEXT's technology is enabled by proprietary organic semiconducting materials that are earth-abundant, low-cost, and are coated as an ink in a high-speed, low-cost, and low energy process. For more information, visit https://www.nextenergytech.com/.
