SBIR-STTR Award

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be to remove a barrier to commercialization of low-cost vacuum glass, a major building energy efficiency improvement. Universal use (unachievable but a useful point of reference) could reduce total U.S. energy use by 5% (about 4 quadrillion BTU/year), more than $15 billion/year at today?s natural gas prices, while adding minimal cost to building infrastructure. This disruptive technology will claim a large share of the new and retrofit building market. Rapid market penetration will be driven by the classic value proposition much better performance for the same cost, eliminating the need for government subsidy. In the near term, the customers will be manufacturers of high-end windows for use in homes around the world. Germany and Russia have their own vacuum glass development programs; a successful development will ensure the U.S. stays at the forefront. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aspires to demonstrate the feasibility of removing residual surface gases from the inside of vacuum glass assemblies using a room temperature process. This necessary manufacturing step is traditionally achieved using a high-temperature bakeout process, which eliminates the possibility of supplying tempered vacuum glass (25% of the market). Research will be performed on an ambient pressure plasma degassing process, which can be carried out at room temperature. Risks include 1) failure to prevent re-adsorption of moisture prior to sealing leading to longer cycle times and short product life, 2) arcing due to the presence of the metal foil seal, low-emissivity metal coatings, 3) varying pane sizes in the same machine, and 4) excessive cycle time and inert gas wastage leading to high cost. This project will build upon atmospheric pressure surface treatment research by the subawardee, the Center for Plasma-Aided Manufacturing at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is in significantly reducing global carbon emissions using vacuum insulating glass. Vacuum glass is like a flat and transparent thermos bottle for windows. Vacuum glass has three times less heat loss than triple pane glass but costs no more to manufacture. This disruptive value proposition will drive rapid market penetration, regardless of energy price, and without the need for government subsidy. This project will produce vacuum insulating glass that will enable R-10 windows, consistent with the goals and schedule of the DOE Windows Roadmap. Immediate benefits include improved occupant comfort and reduced heating bills without thermostat setback. Furthermore, vacuum windows will be condensation-free and fog-free forever. The potential impact is huge. Buildings represent 40% of total U.S. carbon emissions. Near-universal use could reduce total U.S. energy use by 3% (about 3 quadrillion BTU/year), while adding no cost to building infrastructure. Germany, Japan, Australia, China, and Russia have vacuum glass development programs; a successful development under this project will ensure that the U.S. stays at the scientific and technological forefront of this technology, and participates in a large and growing market.This project will develop the use of plasma degassing to achieve a vacuum life beyond 20 years, a condition for private investment. Without adequate degassing, moisture attached to internal surfaces is trapped at the time of seal-off. Trapped moisture molecules will later outgas, causing vacuum decay. Traditional high-temperature bakeout is too costly for affordable vacuum glass. Bakeout takes hours, but plasma degassing takes minutes. A German vacuum glass development effort tried plasma degassing under vacuum, which is inefficient. In contrast, this project will use atmospheric pressure plasma degassing, which is both faster and cheaper. Building on lessons learned during the Phase I project, a plasma treatment protocol will be developed to produce VIG panes as large as 25% of the average residential window size. Working in parallel, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will work to optimize the insulating performance of the design to enable an R-10 window for the DOE Windows Roadmap. Thereafter, an integrated pilot line will be assembled, able to produce vacuum glass units suitable for meaningful retrofit projects. Finally, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory will conduct accelerated life testing. Independent life data, combined with a successful operating pilot line, will help secure private investment for commercialization.