ChromoGenics Sweden AB, the leading developer of electrochromic technology, today announced Volvo Technology Transfer and DuPont Ventures have become new investors in the Uppsala University spin-off company. Together with financing from Innovationsbron Uppsala, the regional subsidiary of Innovationsbron AB, ChromoGenics will look to further strengthen its leading position by building on the company’s unique and patented electrochromic technology to generate energy-savings-related revenues and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A pilot plant will be set up for production and new products will be developed in collaboration with market leading companies.

“For us it is not only a matter of money. Equally important is the fact that DuPont Ventures and Volvo Technology Transfer, both key actors on our market, believe in the potential of our technology and to the leading position of our company,” says Bengt Åkerström, CEO of ChromoGenics. “Now we can move ahead and employ new personnel and develop products for a number of growth markets.”

Electrochromic technology involves plastic foils capable of varying their degree of darkness, thereby impacting the amount of light and heat radiation that can pass through the foils. The foils are so thin that they easily can be applied to regular window panes. ChromoGenics’ unique technology makes it possible to manufacture large volumes of foil at low cost, so it is highly competitive. Among the applications are information displays of different types, as well as ski goggles and helmet visors that can adapt to strongly varying light conditions. Perhaps most importantly, the foils can be used to make ‘Smart Windows’ for buildings and vehicles. These windows are capable of automatically regulating their inlet of light and heat so that the need for air conditioning, which consumes large amounts of energy, is cut to a minimum.

The market for ChromoGenics’ future products provides a substantial growth opportunity for the company with more than half of the anticipated demand coming from smart window applications in the architectural industry. Estimates from the International Energy Agency1 show that smart windows can curtail the cooling needs of buildings radically and may even make air conditioning superfluous. Within the European Union, some four percent of the GNP goes to heating, cooling, and lighting of buildings2, and it is evident that significant savings are within reach when ChromoGenics’ technology is employed. Furthermore, less energy spent in buildings and lowering of the fuel consumption of cars will lead to important environmental benefits by decreasing emissions of greenhouse gases.

The energy savings potential could also be extended to automobiles. The front-line position of the automotive industry...