Company: INOVUES, Houston, TX
Company Description: INOVUES’ non-invasive window retrofit innovations make it possible and cost-effective to upfit building facades with the latest energy-saving and smart glass technologies, without replacement or disruption. Our high-ROI, low-carbon solutions help building owners save up to 40% on energy consumption, improve indoor thermal and acoustical comfort, and increase the value of the building.
Nomination Category: Company / Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Energy Industry Innovation of the Year
 Nomination Title: Upcycled Building Facades: The Answer to Our Twin Energy & Real Estate Crises
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the achievements of the nominated organization since January 1 2021, OR written answers to the questions for this category? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video.
Video: https://youtu.be/nXm6ZEnc0gE
INOVUES’ non-invasive window retrofit innovations make it possible and cost-effective to upfit building facades with the latest energy-saving and smart glass technologies, without replacement or disruption. Our high-ROI, low-carbon solutions help building owners save up to 40% on energy consumption, improve indoor thermal and acoustical comfort, and increase the value of the building.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this first question: Briefly describe the nominated organization: its history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 197 words used.
Did you know that 40% of global CO2 emissions come from the built environment? Or that nearly 70% of all existing buildings today have thermally-inefficient windows? The energy reduction benefits of facade interventions are irrefutable, but they have historically been too costly and disruptive to contemplate. Enter five-year-old, VC-backed INOVUES.
INOVUES provides the only patented retrofit solution in its class to transform existing facades to the latest energy-saving and smart-glass innovations, without removal or replacement. As the sole provider of renewable facade retrofit technologies, we offer building owners high-ROI, low-carbon solutions to save up to 40% on energy consumption, improve indoor thermal and acoustic comfort, and increase the value of building assets. Our innovative retrofit systems provide the same benefits as full replacement with up to 10x faster payback.
Among our backers is the 350-year-old, global building technology leader Saint-Gobain. INOVUES has received national and international awards for its climate-tech and was featured in Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy Climate Action Playbook. Our signature product has been installed on buildings throughout the U.S., including a project currently underway at 3M's headquarters, and commercial real estate leaders are increasingly seeing the high impact of our future-proofing retrofit solutions.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this second question: Outline the organization's achievements since the beginning of 2021 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 241 words used.
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Raised $2.75M seed funding to refine our signature product, introduce a new interior window retrofit product, and grow the team. Saint-Gobain, VC Fuel, Fund4SE, Momentum Glass, Lateral Capital, E8 Angels are among those backing us.
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[REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION]
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Developed first-of-its-kind prototype for non-invasive building-integrated photovoltaic retrofits.
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Winner in the Grid Catalyst Energy Startup Cohort 2022, which resulted in two in-progress pilot projects — at the University of Minnesota and 3M Headquarters. [REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION]
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Completed our first multiyear post-install study at the Saint-Gobain's R&D campus in Boston, MA.
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Became an approved energy conservation measure provider for the NYC Accelerator and Massachusetts Technical Assessment Committee (MTAC).
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Selected in the US Green Building Council Los Angeles (USGBC-LA) Net Zero Accelerator 2022 and Upward Lab’s Net Zero Accelerator 2022.
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Leading Cities QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge Semi-Finalist 2022 for providing smart city solutions to address risk, equity, and sustainability in urban environments.
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High Impact Winner of the CapitaLand Sustainability X Challenge 2021 out of 270 entries from 25 countries. Opportunity resulted in a pilot project in the Portland OR area, managed by Cushman & Wakefield, the leading global real estate services firm. The project is currently in M&V (measurement and verification) phase.
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Featured in Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy 2021 Climate Action Playbook
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this third question: Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the organization's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 217 words used.
There are some window retrofit products on the market, but they provide very limited benefits (e.g., window films), or are not suitable for commercial buildings (most window inserts and storm windows). INOVUES offers the only real alternative to facade/window replacement.
In terms of product and technical differentiation, INOVUES’ patented Insulating Glass Retrofits (IGRs) are the only non-invasive system that can be installed externally or internally and creates a vapor-tight, sealed, desiccated thermal cavity between the original and newly-added glass, like factory-made insulating glass units (IGUs).
The past two years were the most significant in our history. We built collaborative relationships with leading organizations in the energy efficiency and commercial real estate spaces [REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION] to introduce our breakthrough products and overcome perceptions that all facade retrofits are inherently disruptive and unaffordable.
We also embarked on several new projects, developed a new patent-pending secondary product, grew the team, and refined and expanded our go-to-market strategy. We led efforts to advance facade retrofits as a financially viable pathway to lower energy consumption and carbon emissions in existing buildings. [REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION]
- You have the option to answer this final question: Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 149 words used.
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