Electrochromic Materials
DOE also supports the development of electrochromic coatings through several mechanisms. Three companies are engaged in development of commercial prototypes through the Electrochromics Initiative and an SBIR small business grant. LBNL and another DOE laboratory, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) perform a variety of measurements to evaluate the energy performance and durability of these prototypes . Other research activities are intended to assist the efforts of the industry in general. At LBNL, research focuses on rapid development and analysis of electrode materials. Among recent accomplishments was the production of a stoichiometric form of Li0.5Ni0.5O by laser deposition and sputtering with excellent electrochromic properties. Dr. Stuart Cogan of EIC Laboratories tested the films and declared them to have "the highest coloration efficiency of any known anodic electrochromic material." EIC will test the films in their own devices in the near future. We also work on several binary electrodes produced by cosputtering from two targets simultaneously. For example, enhanced forms of tungsten oxide produced in this way have wide application because of the prevalence of tungsten oxide in today's devices. In addition to testing durability, NREL also investigates the degradation mechanisms which lead to failure in the hope of being able to correlate accelerated testing to real time failure as well as to diagnose and correct device problems.