AeroShield Materials Announces Manufacturing Facility Opening, Additional Funding
AeroShield Materials announced the opening of its new manufacturing facility in Waltham, Massachusetts, and the close of $5 million in additional funding with participation from existing investors Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and MassVentures, as well as new investor MassMutual Ventures. The funding will support AeroShield in scaling its business by enabling the company to expand its team to more than 30 employees in the 12,000-square-foot facility where it plans to manufacture full-sized products, including double-pane windows.
AeroShield's work in the window market
AeroShield’s transparent silica aerogel sheets can be added inside double-pane windows and doors to improve energy performance by up to 65%. The facility in Waltham will significantly expand the company's capabilities with aerogel R&D labs, manufacturing equipment, assembly lines and testing equipment.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, window inefficiencies are responsible for up to 30% of a homeowners’ heating and cooling bills, and Americans lose $40 billion per year of energy through their windows. High-performance windows like those produced by AeroShield can save homeowners money, reduce carbon emissions and improve resiliency during extreme temperature events. Just 4 millimeters of AeroShield’s clear material inside a standard double-pane window outperforms triple-pane windows at double-pane thickness and weight, reducing the cost of high-performance windows while still allowing consumers to choose from existing window designs.
While R&D is currently focused on residential windows and doors, the material has a wide range of applications, such as commercial windows, grocery store freezer doors, ovens, electric vehicle windows and solar thermal energy.
This announcement follows recent news from AeroShield that it was selected for a major grant from the Advanced Research Project Agency - Energy. The company also previously announced a $4 million seed round in 2022.
What people are saying
“This facility represents an inflection point in AeroShield’s journey. This is where we will turn our scientific breakthrough into the first certified transparent aerogel windows and begin saving residents billions in heating and cooling costs,” says AeroShield CEO Elise Strobach. “Our pilot facility will supply window and door manufacturers as we launch our first products, and also serve as our R&D headquarters as we develop the next generation of energy-efficient products using transparent aerogels.”
“AeroShield represents the type of innovation and growth that is making Massachusetts the climate tech hub for the world,” says Emily Reichert, CEO of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. “MassCEC exists to help propel companies like this through the training, guidance, grants and investment they need to go from lab to market. AeroShield’s new manufacturing center in Waltham is now part of our growing climate corridor, helping Massachusetts show the world what’s possible."
“AeroShield Materials is a perfect example of our thesis of supporting founders addressing significant climate problems that have historically been underfunded,” says Karl Beinkampen, venture partner, MassMutual Ventures. “In addition to reducing the carbon emissions associated with heating and cooling the built environment, the company has created an elegant solution, which at scale provides a compelling economic proposition to the end user. Installing AeroShield products will simply be a better financial decision.”
