Washington, DC - Today, while visiting the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, Vice President Biden announced that a Colorado-based start-up company has signed the first option agreement under the Department of Energy's new "America's Next Top Energy Innovator" challenge. Based in Boulder, Colorado, US e-Chromic LLC will use electrochromic technology developed by the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to create a new thin film window material that reflects sunlight on demand, making windows more energy efficient while reducing cooling costs for consumers.

"Now, more than ever, America's future competitiveness depends on our ability to innovate and our capacity to live up to our rich history of technological advancement," said Vice President Biden. "This kind of public-private partnership fosters extraordinary innovation, allows brilliant ideas to develop, and gives businesses the tools they need to bring technology to the market."

Of the agreement, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said, "This is a great example of what can happen when we unleash the American innovation machine and allow entrepreneurs to turn a great idea into a business opportunity. By making it easier, faster and cheaper for start-ups to license groundbreaking technologies we can move innovative ideas to the marketplace - creating jobs and growing our economy." 

Read the full release at Energy.gov.