Periodic Reporting for period 2 - GlasSkin (willem@physee.eu)
Berichtszeitraum: 2019-08-01 bis 2021-01-31
Throughout the GlasSkin project PHYSEE focused on their main strategic and high-level objectives. Overall PHYSEE has established constructive dialogue with the real estate industry and has been able to convey the message of transforming glass from inert window to living skin.
PHYSEE sold more than 25 PHYSEEbility Checks, including for projects in Germany, France, the USA, and Ireland. Our SmartWindows are successfully installed in several pilot projects throughout the Netherlands and up to today the windows have proved to be fail free. In the first half of 2019 our Windows have been certified with the EN 1279 certification by the glass manufacturing partner NSG Pilkington, allowing for certified installations by NSG Pilkington at large scale. We also successfully managed for the installation of our windows in the first large scale projects in the Netherlands that were successfully installed in the second half of 2019.
From a technology perspective, the latest coating innovations are tested at the research facility of the global glass partner NSG Pilkington. After intensive research we have developed a coating that successfully passed the required weathering and performance tests. A patent covering the novelty in the coating development is submitted, and currently pending approval.
Throughout 2018 and 2019 we fundamentally updated the design of the PowerWindow from version 1.1 to 2.1. This has resulted in a decrease of the COGS per square meter below €50,62/m2 so far. A patent covering the relevant innovations and component designs is currently pending approval.
The SmartWindows value proposition has achieved 15% energy reductions in our latest PHYSEEbility Checks for our ambassadors. All this combined has resulted in deals with 2 major glass manufacturers for new projects in Germany, the UK, and France, next to the current projects in the Netherlands. Currently, the commercial projects however experienced external delays due to COVID, so it will remain a challenge to meet our ambitious revenue targets end of year with regards to realized work.
PHYSEE Strategic Objectives
Change the world’s perspective on the purpose of glass from “inert window” to “living skin,” and from “energy drain” to “power source”.
By 2020, perfect a solar-powered window – plus control systems – that becomes a “no-brainer” for real estate developers in both newbuilds and retrofits.
By 2025, displace conventional windows in 20% of 10-storey newbuilds and retrofits in the Netherlands, Germany, France and the UK.
Develop a presence in Asian and North American markets equating to 10% of PHYSEE turnover by 2025.
The GlasSkin window coating was developed in close collaboration with NSG Pilkington, and together we were able to make a fully reproducible, scalable, durable and fully transparent coating on their production lines. And although both partners involved deem this fact hugely successful, the power production performance has not met the targeted 30W/m2 yet. It is expected to require an additional iteration of the materials required for these depositions, which is a shared goal to achieve in 2021. Both parties to underwrite the fact that also the current performance of the coating has commercial relevance and impact, so the growth plan is still maintained – albeit delayed due to COVID.
PHYSEE developed her own production facility and named it the FlatPack Factory. This FlatPack Factory has 14 workstations that are used to produce the plug-and-play Flatpacks. These Flatpacks are then send to our partner window manufacturers to assemble the windows, and provide the European EN1279 certification on the windows.
So far external engineering companies such as DGMR calculated that PHYSEE was able to realise 15-20% energy reduction with their GlasSkin on their realised large scale commercial pilot projects. This traction is resulting in an increasing pipeline of project in the Netherlands, Germany, UK and France totalling €10m of revenue value beginning of 2021. The existing partnerships with both NSG Pilkington as well as with AGC have proven to be very successful, and PHYSEE was allowed to train their international sales teams as official ‘GlasSkin sales partners’. Financially PHYSEE is still within budget, with the only comment of delays in commercial projects due to PHYSEE, leading to delayed revenue targets.
In all the GlasSkin project catapulted PHYSEE into its next phase of growth and scale, which we simply would not have been able to achieve without the SME Phase II Grant. This culminated in the successful closing of our Series A Funding round of €3m in convertible loans and €3m in equity against a €25m pre-money valuation. The biggest value drivers in this round were the successful developments of our light conversion coatings with global industry partners, the international tractions through the large sales teams of our ‘GlasSkin sales partners’ NSG Pilkington and AGC, the hugely talented and diverse team of PHYSEEonairs, the strong patent portfolio, and the extreme ambition to disrupt the building industry with our Smart Sustainable and Healthy building façade solutions.
Through the GlasSkin project we were able to attract over 25 ambassadors for our unique GlasSkin solution, we were able to successfully install 6 failure free pilot project and sell 6 projects to real estate developers and investors. We grew the team to over 25 FTE with senior and junior talent from all over the world, and we were able to share our vision and story across all media relevant for our industry varying from the World Economic Forum (Davos) to EXPO REAL (München) and MIPIM (Cannes). Together with our established partnerships we believe this has set-up PHYSEE for its next phase of growth, which we hopefully are able to go through together with the EIC again with its Accelerator Pilot program.