Şişecam International Glass Conference Brings the Industry’s Transformation Agenda to Istanbul in Its 40th Year

Reflecting Şişecam’s 50 years of R&D expertise, the conference will be held in a hybrid format this year. Bringing together more than 350 industry professionals, the event will host a comprehensive program under the theme “United to Innovate: A Future-Focused Transformation of Energy & Glass,” focusing on the key topics shaping the transformation of the glass industry.

Global player in the glass and chemicals industries, Şişecam continues to bring together academia, design, and industry on the same platform by addressing the transformative role of glass across different industries from a multidimensional perspective. With a strong 40-year tradition of knowledge sharing, the Şişecam International Glass Conference will once again place strategic topics shaping the future of the glass industry at the center of the agenda.

The conference’s keynote address will be delivered by Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA). Dr. Birol will offer a comprehensive perspective on the implications of the global energy transition for industry, with a particular focus on sustainable production, energy efficiency, and the path toward low-carbon transformation in the glass sector. A special session featuring Dr. Birol will also explore the impact of the energy transition on the industry in greater depth.

Among the other keynote speakers, Davide Cappellino, President of AGC Architectural Glass Europe & Americas and Chairman of Glass for Europe, will focus on the challenges and opportunities facing the European flat glass industry in the context of sustainability and energy transition. Architect Murat Tabanlıoğlu, founder of +MURAT TABANLIOĞLU Studio, will discuss the use of glass in architecture and design through the lens of spatial experience and design approach.

The panel sessions at the heart of the program will address the industry’s transformation through its most critical topics. On the first day, the panel titled “How the Glass Innovation and Technology Ecosystem Works” will discuss challenges in scaling innovation from fundamental research to industrial production, why glass innovation scales slowly, the race toward decarbonization, the need for cross-sector collaboration, and the balance between competition and complementarity.

On the second day, the panel “From Lab to Scalable Innovation” will focus on the commercialization of technologies, including scaling strategies, corporate-startup collaborations, investor approaches, acceleration programs, talent ecosystems, and the “valley of death” faced by startups.

Throughout the two-day conference, parallel sessions will cover energy transition, decarbonization, digitalization, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing technologies, and design. International speakers will share the latest developments in areas such as smart glass technologies, low-carbon production approaches, and AI-supported manufacturing solutions.

In addition to panels and presentations, the conference will offer poster sessions and networking events, creating opportunities for direct interaction and collaboration among participants.

Marking its 40th year, the Şişecam International Glass Conference continues to serve as a strategic global knowledge-sharing platform, shaping discussions around sustainability, innovation, and technological transformation in the glass industry. Aligned with Şişecam’s vision to advance the international glass ecosystem, the conference provides a powerful forum for collaboration, insight exchange, and future-focused dialogue among industry professionals worldwide.