Until recently, electrically dimmable aircraft windows were dependent on electrical current supplied through the aircraft grid. With new technology from French energy specialist Sunpartner and its recently acquired French partner Vision Systems (Booth No. C9925), that is about to change.

According to Ludovic Deblois, CEO and founder of Sunpartner Group, the company’s new Wysips Glass can transform any glass surface into a photovoltaic energy-generating solar panel producing enough energy to power the dimmable window itself without the need of an external power source.

The Wysips Glass currently captures 30 watts of energy per square meter, allowing visual transparency of the window from 70 to 90 percent. The company anticipates the capacity to reach 50 watts per square meter in 2014, while maintaining the 70- to 90-percent transparency rating, and Deblois expects the transparency rating will reach 95 percent.

While the Wysips Window can potentially generate enough electricity to power not only itself, as well as other nearby devices, there would be a tradeoff in transparency.

The first real application of Wysips Glass was as a power source for a cell phone. As for the weight, in a standard business jet window, the weight gain is approximately 3.5 ounces, which the company is working to reduce.

Aix-en-Provence-based Sunpartner and Vision Systems of Brignais expect to develop a prototype by the end of this year and a market-ready product should be available in mid-2015.