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Last month we had a story about Saint-Gobain Glass’s $80 million investment in Sage Electrochromics. Today, another electrochromic window maker, Soladigm, announced via press release that it had received $30 million in new investments from some heavy hitters, such as GE Energy Financial Services.

Soladigm apparently has been in GE sights for some time, and was recently a winner of the company’s Ecomagination competition in the Solar Heating and Cooling category. Soladigm, headquartered in Milpitas, Calif., calls their product Dynamic Glass, which the company claims to be “the first technology to deliver on the key requirements of performance, scalability and durability with the cost-effectiveness needed for broad adoption.”

Regarding the science behind Soladigm, GigaOM reported in August that the company signed a licensing agreement with the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in 2008. LBL apparently has developed a “switchable mirror” technology based on metal–metal hydride system (e.g., using magnesium as the metal) to reflect external light.  But, an LBL researcher reported to GigaOM that Soladigm’s initial approach actually involves tungsten oxide as one of the layers in the glass. Tantalum nitride and antimony may also play a role.

Soladigm had already received a $3.5 million DOE grant and is already producing glass in a small California factory. But, the new investments, leveraged by over $40 million in inducements from the State of Mississippi, will allow the company to produce 60-inch window products. The Mississippi facility is where the company says it will “build and launch high-volume commercial operations and develop sales and marketing channels.” The factory is expected to begin commercial operations in 2012.

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Until recently, Sage Electrochromics made electrically tintable windows on a relatively small scale. All that’s about to change. On Friday, the DOE announced that it would provide Sage with a $72 million loan guarantee to build a 250,000 sq. ft. plant in Faribault, Minn.

The company’s SageGlass windows can turn from clear to opaque and back with a click of the switch. (Okay, not literally that quick, but more like in 3-5 minutes after a small amount of voltage is supplied or cut off.) Sage says its product is the only commercially available, electronically tintable window glass in the world.

The loan nicely complements a $31 million Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit the company snagged from the DOE earlier this year.

Sage says its panes are coated with five layers of ceramic materials and use a low voltage:

“When voltage [less than 5V DC] is applied to these layers in their “clear” state, they darken as lithium ions and associated electrons transfer from the counter electrode to the electrochromic electrode layer.Reversing the voltage polarity causes the ions and associated electrons to return to their original layer.”

The company uses a vacuum-deposition sputtering process coating conventional float glass. A second piece of glass is added to complete the sandwich, which is surrounded by an aluminum frame. The units can transmit less than 4% of the visible light in their tinted state.

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, according to the DOE, says SageGlass could cut a building’s heating and air conditioning equipment size by up to 25% and reduce overall cooling loads for commercial buildings up to 20% (by lowering peak power demand) besides shrinking lighting cost. Use of SageGlass may provide LEED credits.

While the glass panels currently operate only in either clear or opaque modes, the company says it will sell an intermediate-level tint system later this year. Sage also says PV-powered units are under development - a good match because of the low-voltage requirements.

The units can be connected to either a simple wall switch or as units integrated into a building management control systems. They also come in four colors (interior appearance - the exterior of appearance of the four are the same): black, green, blue and gray. The largest size currently available is 40″ x 60″ (in either dimension, W x L, or L x W).

The company offers an interesting portfolio on its website of SageGlass installations.

Faribault is located about 25 miles south of St. Paul. The company says the new factory will create about 160 new jobs.

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