A New Mexico company has announced that three commercial building sites have been fitted with new electricity-generating solar windows as part of a pilot project.

UbiQD Inc, an advanced materials company based in Los Alamos, New Mexico which announced in 2020 the completion of a $7M venture funding round, has installed the “quantum dot-tinted” solar windows in three locations including the company’s own headquarters in Los Alamos, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado.

The purpose of the pilot scheme is to evaluate the effects of various real-world factors in the usage of the windows, such as the importance of window orientation, time of day, and installation methods to the windows’ function. The double-paned window units were made with the collaboration of Albuquerque window manufacturer GlazTech Industries.

“My partners and I are excited to be at the forefront of energy technology and building-integrated sustainability, and frankly we were lucky to have the opportunity,” said Brian Patrick Martin, co-owner of the Holiday Inn Express and Suites Los Alamos, where UbiQD’s solar windows have also been installed.

“The window upgrade was part of our recent $2.4 million Formula Blue renovation and I know our guests will enjoy the solar-powered pancakes for breakfast.”

The core of the functionality of the solar windows is UbiQD’s photoluminescent “quantum dot” technology, which has previously been used in the creation of security inks for watermarks as well as light filters to increase greenhouse growing efficiency.

The windows involve a new application of this technology to harness the photoluminescent elements of the quantum dots to generate electricity.

In future, depending on the results of the solar window tests, UbiQD intends to roll out the technology more widely. Plans have been made for further projects in New Mexico, Colorado and Washington State.