architectural glass founded 1989 founder john van dine headquarters 44 19 42 n 93 17 29 w 44.32833 n 93.29139 w 44.32833 ; 93.29139 coordinates 44 19 42 n 93 17 29 w 44.32833 n 93.29139 w 44.32833 ; 93.29139 faribault mn usa products electrochromic glass number of employees 231 2016 website www.sageglass.com sage electrochromics inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of saint gobain is a specialized window glass developer based in faribault minnesota . the company develops electronically tintable smart glass also called electrochromic glass ec or dynamic glass for use in building windows skylights and curtainwalls that can be electronically tinted or cleared to optimize daylight and improve occupant comfort in buildings . according to the u.s. department of energy s doe lawrence berkeley national laboratory lbnl sage s sageglass technology has the potential to reduce building heating and air conditioning equipment size by up to 25 % resulting in construction cost savings . sageglass could also potentially reduce overall cooling loads for commercial buildings up to 20 % by lowering peak power demand and may reduce lighting costs by up to 60 % while providing building occupants with more natural daylight and greater comfort . 1 contents 1 history 2 funding 3 technology 3.1 testing 3.2 green building qualifications 4 competitors 5 customers 6 management team 7 awards 8 see also 9 references 10 external links history edit the company was founded in 1989 by former ceo john van dine as sun active glass electrochromics inc. sage in a valley cottage new york laboratory . 2 in 1992 the company moved to rutgers university s department of ceramic science and engineering for r & d collaboration with rutgers scientists . 2 in 1994 the company changed its name to sage electrochromics inc. it moved to faribault minnesota in 1998 where over the next five years it refined the production process and testing of its first commercial product sageglass in its pilot line facility . 3 4 samples of these insulating glass units igus were tested by the department of energy 5 in the glass fabricating and oem skylight industry . 6 in 2005 sage moved to its new 60 000 square foot 5 600 m2 headquarters and manufacturing facility and commercially launched its first generation sageglass product . 7 in march 2010 sage announced 8 more than 100 million in doe funding and internal revenue service irs tax credits to build a new facility in faribault minnesota to mass produce sageglass igus . 1 9 the company ultimately decided to withdraw from the government funding program . shortly thereafter the company announced a new product that combines electrochromic technology with low u factor triple pane window glass construction . 10 on november 10 2010 french glass and building materials company saint gobain acquired 50 percent of the sage with plans to share the two companies electrochromic glass technology and research and development efforts the companies are also building the world s first large scale electrochromic glass plant in faribault minnesota . 11 in 2012 sage opened a new 324 000 square foor 30 100 square meter high volume manufacturing facility to manufacture its next generation sageglass product . in may 2012 saint gobain announced they had acquired 100 % of sage . the company became a wholly owned subsidiary of saint gobain at that time . 12 october 2 2013 the company announced that van dine stepped down from the ceo position to be replaced by alan mclenaghan with van dine becoming vice chairman for a three year term starting in january 2014 . funding edit as of 2010 sage electrochromics has received more than 50 million in venture capital funding and government grants . 13 14 15 in july 2007 the company received 16 million in series b financing 14 from good energies applied ventures llc and bekaert . in february 2009 sage received an additional 20 million round from the same investors . 16 in march 2010 u.s. energy secretary steven chu announced that the doe had awarded sage a conditional commitment for a 72 million loan guarantee along with the 31 million advanced energy manufacturing tax credit sage was awarded earlier . 17 the loan guarantee and tax credits are to be used to help sage establish a new facility to expand production and lower costs of its electrochromic glass with the goal to make buildings more energy efficient and create new green manufacturing and construction jobs . 1 the funding was granted under the department of energy s loan guarantee program established under the energy policy act of 2005 to support new technologies that reduce or sequester greenhouse gases . the 50 percent acquisition of sage by saint gobain in november 2010 was an additional 80 million investment . 18 sage will manufacture the electrochromic glass for both companies at the new faribault minnesota plant . the facility will allow production of larger sheets of dynamic glass at high volumes making it suitable and affordable for most buildings . 18 technology edit sageglass is electronically tintable glass for use in buildings . 19 it incorporates nanotechnology consisting of five layers of ceramic materials 20 which have a total thickness that is less than 1 50th that of a human hair . 19 when voltage is applied less than 5v dc it darkens as lithium ions and associated electrons transfer from the counter electrode to an electrochromic electrode layer 21 see figure 1 . reversing the voltage polarity causes the ions and associated electrons to return to their original layer the counter electrode and the glass clears . this solid state electrochromic reaction is controlled through a low voltage dc power supply . when the sageglass coating darkens the sun s light and heat are absorbed and subsequently reradiated from the glass surface to the exterior much the way low emissivity glass also keeps out unwanted heat . figure 1 how electrochromic glass works . for example on hot sunny days the tint in the windows would darken to reduce glare and block out heat . on cold cloudy days the windows would clear to allow sunlight and heat to fill the office or home . the electrical switching of tints can be operated manually or integrated into an automated building management system . sageglass modulates visible light transmission and solar heat gain and in the tinted condition blocks 91 percent of the solar heat gain . 22 in addition to stopping solar heat gain electrochromic igus block glare reduce fading eliminate the need for some other architectural environmental controls such as window shades and awnings and enable building inhabitants to continually view the outdoors . 23 24 sage holds 300 u.s. and foreign patents relating to its sageglass technology . testing edit sageglass was the first electrochromic igu to pass the astm e 2141 06 standard test methods for assessing the durability of absorptive electrochromic coatings on sealed igu performing more than 100 000 cycles of accelerated environmental durability testing which is twice the test standard and equivalent to switching a window nine times per day for 365 days year over a 30 year lifetime according to nrel . 25 26 green building qualifications edit sageglass is greenspec listed which means it has been designated as an environmentally preferable building product by buildinggreen llc . sageglass igus also qualify for leadership in energy and environmental design leed accredited building projects because they provide an additional tool for daylighting design and also conserve energy . 27 sageglass qualifies for leed credits in the following categories ea credit 1 optimize energy performance 1 19 points possible 27 ea prerequisite 2 minimum energy performance required 27 ieq credit 7.1 thermal comfort design 1 point possible 27 ieq credit 8.1 daylight and views daylight 1 point possible 27 ieq credit 6.2 controllability of systems thermal comfort 1 point possible 27 ss credit 8 light pollution reduction 1 point possible 27 in addition sageglass could potentially qualify for the following credit i & dp credit 1 innovation in design 1 point possible 27 competitors edit electrochromic glass manufacturers econtrol glas in plauen germany view inc. in milpitas california chromogenics in uppsala sweden other smart glass manufacturers research frontiers in woodbury new york gesimat in berlin germany superinsulated glass manufacturers seriouswindows in sunnyvale california customers edit sageglass has been installed in commercial institutional and high end residential applications including chabot college hayward california 28 ball state university muncie indiana 29 club porticello oconomowoc wisconsin 29 kirksey architecture houston texas 29 century college white bear lake minnesota 29 siemens energy hutchinson kansas argonne national laboratory s advanced protein crystallization facility lemont illinois general services administration headquarters washington dc kimmel center for the performing arts philadelphia pennsylvania frost school of music at university of miami coral gables florida boston museum of science boston massachusetts saint gobain north america headquarters malvern pennsylvania us bank tower 71 above restaurant los angeles california grove city college grove city pennsylvania minneapolis saint paul international airport hennepin county minnesota mall of america bloomington minnesota management team edit the management team includes the following 30 alan mclenaghan ceo francis o neill director of sales chuck hayes vice president strategic purchasing & legal david pender director of operations derek malmquist vice president marketing jean christophe giron phd vice president r & d and product development lou podbelski vice president architectural solutions phillipe firmin financial director 31 awards edit architectural products product innovation award 2015 32 green thinker network sustainability 2013 award 33 solar foundation technology innovation award 2013 33 the snappys snap magazine s product awards 2013 33 2013 nacdb merit award industry award for innovation 33 minnesota business magazine manufacturing awards sustainability 33 green thinker network sustainability 2012 award 33 batimat international innovation awards 2011 33 bloomberg new energy finance new energy pioneer 2011 34 wall street journal s technology innovation award 2004 35 building operation management s 2010 top products award 36 inc. magazine s most likely to succeed award 2006 37 r & d 100 awards for energy 38 buildinggreen top 10 green building products award 2006 39 home s 2005 american building product award citation needed innovative housing 2006 technology award 40 buildings magazine s 2007 editor s choice top 100 products award 41 window door crystal achievement award 2005 42 see also edit smart glass electrochromism references edit a b c doe offers 72 million conditional loan guarantee to sage electrochromics press release . u.s. department of energy . 2010 03 05 . a b window technology national institute of standards and technology advanced technology program status report c.g.granqvist crit . rev. solid state mater . sci . 16 291 308 1990 ; c.m.lampert solar energy materials 11 1 27 1984 electrochromics achieving business excellence 2009 06 08 1 how long will ec window coatings last the lawrence berkeley national laboratory environmental energy technologies division advancement of electrochromic windows website of electrochromic windows thermal calibration of the windows testbed facility technical report lawrence berkeley national laboratory 2006 04 minnesota investment network corporation invests in high tech architectural glass manufacturer press release . sage electrochromics inc. 2005 02 02 . 100 million in doe funding and internal revenue service green manufacturing tax credits will bring sage s revolutionary energy saving dynamic glass to the world press release . businesswire.com . 2010 03 05 . sage electrochromics sageglass improving indoor environments through light quality . green buildings.com . sage introduces world s most energy efficient window glass . nanowerk news . 2010 03 31 . saint gobain acquires 50 % of sage electrochromics . wall street journal . 2010 11 10 . saint gobain acquires sage electrochromics for smart windows . greentech media . 9 may 2012 . retrieved 9 may 2012 . pulling back the curtains owatonna.com 2010 07 2010 a b 2 sage electrochromics secures 16 million in series b financing sage electrochromics press release july 17 2007 smart windows open up more funding for sage gigaom 2009 02 24 3 energy saving glass