Miru, a B.C. startup that makes smart-glass that can result in energy savings in both vehicles and buildings, has landed US$20 million ($27 million) in Series A financing.
The Business Development Bank of Canada, through BDC Capital, is leading the investment, along with Angelo Paletta of TNG Capital Corp. The financing also includes follow-on investments by Greensoil Proptech Ventures.
“BDC’s investment in Miru underscores our commitment to fostering innovation and sustainability in smart building solutions,” said Vivian Kan, partner with BDC Capital’s Climate Tech Fund.
“Together with Miru, we look forward to advancing glass technology that not only enhances energy efficiency but also transforms the way we interact with our environments.”
Miru was founded by Curtis Berlinguette -- a professor at the University of BC’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering -- and came out of Creative Destruction Lab.
Miru makes electrochromic windows, or eWindows, which are like the photochromic lenses used in tinting sunglasses, except the eWindows use electric charges.
Berlinguette developed a lamination process that coats each side of a glass with a metal oxide material -- essentially creating an anode and cathode on each side, allowing electric currents to control the tinting of the glass as required.
“It’s just laminated glass," Berlinguette said. "So we have basically developed our process to be compatible with an existing architecture, so it’s not that much more expensive. Other smart window technology has multiple layers that really do add up and drive the higher cost.”
An algorithm automatically tints and clears the glass, based on things like time of day, or it can be manually adjusted.
This smart-glass can automatically adjust tint to increase or filter out natural light to control both glare and heat. By using electricity to adjust the tint level of the glass, Miru eWindows can reduce the power needed for air-conditioning in both cars and buildings.
Miru estimates its smart-glass technology could avoid two gigatons of CO2 emissions simply through improving energy efficiency of buildings by 20 per cent and extending the range of electric vehicles by 10 per cent.
While there are many potential applications and markets, the one with the biggest potential market is automotive, especially electric vehicles.
“People are looking now for better solutions to control for the sun’s glare and also to control temperature of the cabin of the vehicle," Berlinguette said. “If you stabilize the cabin temperature of a vehicle by five degrees in extreme heat or extreme cold, you can actually extend the driving range of a vehicle by 10 per cent. We’re getting incredibly strong pull from the automotive market right now.”
Any glass fabricator can use the Miru process to create eWindows through licensing agreements.
The recent Series A financing will help Miru open new demonstration plants in Vancouver and Europe, where Miru make a small number of e-Windows and teach glass fabricators how to apply the Miruw films to regular glass and windshields
The company currently employs 40 people at its facility in Vancouver.
"We will be increasing our staff to about 60 over the next six months," Berlinguette said.
