ClearVue Technologies Ltd (ASX:CPV, OTCQB:CVUEF) has won a grant of up to $2 million from the Western Australian Government to assist with establishing a local facility to manufacture key components for its core solar integrated glazing units (IGUs) and windows.
This follows the signing this week of a Financial Assistance Agreement (FAA) with the Western Australian Minister for State Development, Jobs and Trade, Roger Cook MLA, to assist with the establishment of a Photovoltaic (PV) and Nanoparticle Components Manufacturing Facility in WA.
These funds will be used by ClearVue to establish new advanced manufacturing industries in Perth to onshore the manufacturing of key components required for its technology.
De-risking supply chain
This is expected to de-risk the company’s supply chain while also improving control over its core intellectual property (IP) while creating a new export opportunity for the State.
CPV's acting CEO and executive director Jamie Lyford said: “Our board and management, and all of our staff and partners, are incredibly grateful to the State Government of Western Australia for selecting ClearVue for this grant.
"The ClearVue team is very proud to have had their proposal selected – it is a fantastic honour and a testament to the hard work that the team put into the submission."
Solar PV strip assembly line
Specifically, the company intends to create a solar PV strip assembly line to manufacture the PV strips used for solar collection in ClearVue’s PV solar windows and façades.
ClearVue also intends to establish an in-house nanoparticle and quantum dot production capability to produce nanoparticles used in the polyvinyl butyral lamination interlayer currently used in the majority of the company’s end products.
The nanoparticle reactors that are used to produce the nanoparticles will also produce quantum dots, a key part of ClearVue’s technology and innovation pipeline as commercialisation advances.
These core IP components that will be manufactured at this new facility will be shipped locally and globally to the company’s licensed manufacturers and fabricators for use in end-product solar façades and windows.
“Ensuring supply chain”
“COVID and the Ukraine war have confirmed that control of the manufacturing of our core components is critical to ensuring our future supply chain,” Lyford said.
"We are all very pleased that we will be able to keep certain core parts of the business within Western Australia going forward – including creating new local skilled jobs and diversifying the economy – even as we are reaching out into global markets including our key sales territories of the US and Europe."
Investment Attraction Fund
The grant is made under the WA Government’s Investment Attraction Fund (IAF) launched in March 2022 and delivered through Invest and Trade WA, within the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation (JTSI).
The IAF is a key enabler for investment attraction into WA, supporting the State’s economic diversification priorities.
It has been established to support activities that will improve value and productivity across multiple sectors of the economy, such as supply chain development, advanced manufacturing, science, innovation and technology, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) frameworks.
“New employment opportunities”
WA Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Jobs and Trade, Roger Cook MLA said: “The WA Government’s Investment Attraction Fund aims to encourage new investment, support the development and expansion of new and emerging industries to diversify our State’s economy, and create new employment opportunities.
“The fund seeks to capitalise on WA’s comparative advantages, including our now thriving innovation ecosystem.
"A key to ensuring that is supporting innovative companies, like ClearVue, to evolve into thriving businesses within our state and to develop and retain highly-skilled technical expertise here in WA."
“A trailblazer in the field of advanced solar glazing and window solutions, ClearVue, is a genuine WA success story,” he added.
"With their patented technology, they continue to expand into international markets and the $2 million Investment Attraction Fund grant will enable ClearVue to manufacture its key components onshore for the foreseeable future, creating new employment opportunities within the sector.”
To match funds
The grant of up to A$2 million will be paid in tranches subject to the company completing certain milestones and reporting obligations. The company, under the terms of the FAA, is required to match any grant funding received from the IAF.
ClearVue will continue to assess future funding needs which may include potential future equity raising.
The first milestone is the execution of the FAA itself, followed by the signing of a lease for housing the manufacturing facility equipment.
Subsequent milestones relate to the ordering and commissioning of equipment, and confirmation of the company’s own financial contributions to establishing the facility.
New appointments
Lyford concluded: “As an aside, and in relation to those global outreach efforts, the company has recently welcomed Gerd Hoenicke from Germany and Chuck Mowrey from the US onto ClearVue’s board and just yesterday announced the appointment of Martin Deil as our new global CEO, all as we seek to entrench ourselves in those key markets – all three are well-known industry leaders in the façade and glazing industries who bring significant knowledge and deep networks to the company.
"Once again, the company wishes to thank the State Government of Western Australia for recognising the contribution ClearVue is making to the State through this grant.”