Date: 29 July 2025
. has accomplished another significant milestone toward commercialization of NEXT鈥檚 BIPV solution, with the first installation of a commercial facade Powered by NEXT transparent OPV coatings at its headquarters in Santa Barbara, California.
The groundbreaking installation features six transparent photovoltaic (PV) windows, each measuring 40 by 60 inches, for a total of 100 square feet of NEXT鈥檚 proprietary energy-generating glass. This marks the world鈥檚 first installation of its kind: a Building Integrated PV (BIPV) facade featuring organic photovoltaic (OPV) coatings developed by NEXT.
Each insulating glass unit (IGU) incorporates NEXT鈥檚 OPV coating on the outboard lite and runs cables through the framing system. The high-performance 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鈥檚 seamless integration into the window fabrication supply chain.
鈥淭he successful scaling of NEXT鈥檚 OPV technology, both on glass and in facades, takes NEXT and the industry closer to a future of sustainable building design,鈥 said Daniel Emmett, CEO, Executive Chairman, and Co-Founder of NEXT. 鈥淲e鈥檙e incredibly proud of the quality of the coating, the seamless installation, and the power generation performance we鈥檙e already seeing from this first facade installation.鈥
Installed at the company鈥檚 Santa Barbara headquarters, the windows now offer architects, developers, and industry stakeholders a real-world demonstration of NEXT鈥檚 aesthetic, energy-producing glass in action. Visitors can see the seamless integration of solar technology into a standard commercial facade and observe firsthand how the system generates power while maintaining transparency and design flexibility.
鈥淭his is the first of many,鈥 added Jonathan Hafemann, NEXT鈥檚 VP, Commercialization & Growth. 鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled to share this tangible demonstration of our vision for energy-generating facades, and to invite the industry to imagine what鈥檚 possible when windows do more than just manage heat gain and U-Value.鈥
NEXT鈥檚 transparent organic photovoltaic (OPV) technology enables commercial windows to generate solar energy, turning building facades into on-site power sources. This innovation supports greater energy efficiency, generates clean power at the point of use, enhances building resilience, and helps improve grid efficiency.
When integrated into a building, a NEXT OPV facade can generate enough electricity to offset approximately 20鈥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.
and explore NEXT鈥檚 OPV solution and partnership opportunities at .
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