Analysts project that demand for advanced flat-glass products will expand nearly 6 percent per year to generate sales of $7.7 billion by 2010, according to a study released Aug. 21 by the Freedonia Group of Cleveland.
The study encompasses solar-control products including low-emissivity, reflective and smart glass, explained Bill Baumgartner, Freedonia’s senior industry analyst, in an e-mail.
Glass such as those that have been given a chemical coating to block ultraviolet rays have been included in the study, however, glass products that have had film added to them to accomplish similar purposes have not been considered.
Smart-glass products, the analysts write in the executive summary, “can alter their own levels of light transmission automatically via the application of an electric current. The dominant application for smart-glass technology to this point has been electrochromic mirrors for motor vehicles.”
However, “looking forward, significant growth will be provided by other smart-glass products, primarily in architectural markets, as electrochromic and suspended particle device technologies make inroads into window applications.”
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