Thin-film firm receives seed money

BOULDER – US e-Chromic, a Boulder-based company that wants to commercialize an energy-saving thin film for windows, received a $50,000 seed investment from venture capital firm Amplifier Ventures based in McLean, Virginia.

US e-Chromic will use the money to continue research on the technology created at the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, said Loren Burnett, company founder.

When the film is applied to residential and commercial building windows to keep heat out in the summer months, it could potentially save 1 percent to 2 percent of total energy consumption nationwide, Burnett said. It can reduce individual commercial or residential building cooling costs by 25 percent to 30 percent.

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The thin-film technology can change from clear to reflective, meaning that heat from the sun can still come into building windows in the winter, he said.

“This truly is a technology that can have a meaningful impact in the world,” Burnett said. “We think being located in Boulder really gives us an advantage with all the talent located here and the fact that Boulder is such an entrepreneurial area.”

US e-Chromic will continue to raise capital with plans to move into the manufacturing stage in about a year, Burnett said. The company was formed in April after a licensing agreement was reached with NREL. Terms of the licensing agreement were not disclosed.