Sustainable Buildings

Decrease the energy consumption of buildings by development of innovative optical materials and coatings

Within the Sustainable Buildings Program, Brightlands Materials Center and partners focus on the development of innovative materials and coatings. These can be used for application in building envelopes to reduce the energy consumption for heating and cooling of buildings.

Buildings are currently responsible for 40% of the energy consumption and 36% of the CO2 emission in the EU.
To secure our future energy supply we need to reduce our energy consumption.
Our innovative materials for application in the building envelope can help reducing energy consumption, and even generating renewable energy on-site.

Glass Windows

The building envelope is the primary thermal barrier between interior and exterior. Innovative materials can play a key role in determining the level of comfort, indoor climate, natural lighting, ventilation, energy consumption for heating & cooling.

Brightlands Materials Center – Sustainable Buildings currently focuses on glass windows as an important part of building envelopes in relation to energy saving.

Energy loss through windows accounts for roughly 50% of energy consumption
85% of glazed areas in buildings are still inefficient because of either single glazing or outdated double glazing (recently investigated by ‘Glass for Europe’)

Glass for Europe, the trade association for European manufacturers of building, automotive, and transport glass, on the importance of providing products that can generate energy savings, reduce CO2 emissions and create healthier buildings.

BMC Developments

SunSmart - Thermochromic Solar Control Coating

The first affordable, sustainable, energy-optimised window. High visible transparency combined with autonomously switch (thermochromic), from solar infrared transmissive to blocking state depending on the temperature, without visible color change, for efficient heat management in the built environment.

Download leaflet: SunSmart - Thermochromic Solar Control Coating

Functional polymer films and sheets

Polymeric films and sheets compromising tailored nano-pigments for smart solutions in laminated glass in architectural and automotive applications and/or laminated BIPV units.

Download leaflet: SunECap - High Refractive Index Encapsulant for Photovoltaics

Advanced BIPV

Coatings and functional encapsulants for improving the efficiency of photovoltaic modules: more electricity from the same PV panel. Colored coatings that improve the aesthetics of photovoltaic modules with minimum loss in efficiency.