Rising implementation of sustainable solutions across the transportation and architectural sectors is stimulating the industry landscape. Surging construction activities with advanced technologies along with growing focus toward sustainable consumption and optimization is augmenting the product demand. Aesthetic appeal, thermal insulation, and energy conservation are some of the prime factors that have significantly impacted the product adoption. In addition, shifting focus toward adoption of advanced automobile integrated with digital interface and components with upgraded technology is complementing the industry upsurge. The automotive applications have witnessed a paradigm shift in functionalities for weather protection and connected technologies through advanced glasses, which will further escalate the product demand in the coming years.

Ongoing refurbishment & renovation activities across developed countries owing to policy mandates is anticipated to positively influence the industry outlook. Although, significant penetration of viable substitutes, including decals & coatings, and chemical glazes may hamper the product adoption. In addition, the high production cost of smart glass coupled with limited manufacturing capabilities may restrict the business landscape. However, the rapidly surging urban population along with rising per capita income across developing countries in line with ongoing commercialization is expected to provide impetus to the industry.

Technology Segment

On the basis of the technology segment, the market is categorized into Suspended Particle Display, Electrochromic, Liquid Crystal, Photochromic, and Thermochromic. Suspended Particle Display, dominates the global smart glass market with a share of over 40% share in 2019 and is anticipated to dominate the industry for the forecast period 2020-2025.

Application Segment

On the applications, the market is bifurcated into Architecture, Transportation, Power Generation (Solar), and Others. The architecture segment is divided into a commercial and residential segment. Furthermore, the transportation segment is categorized into automotive, rail, marine and aviation.

The U.S. is anticipated to dominate across the North America region. In recent years, smart glass has become prominent material for the construction of commercial building owing to its aesthetic appeal and ability to meet different construction requirements. Moreover, technology further helps the commercial establishments to achieve cost efficiency on account of its ability to reduce the cooling load during the hot weather conditions. Rising focus toward green buildings and energy harvesting is further favouring the business landscape.

Europe is anticipated to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period for the smart glass market. Germany, France, the UK, and Italy are some of the countries with major penetration of the product. The automobile and hospitality sectors across the region have grown extensively due to supportive government directives, norms and policies. Positive regulatory outlook toward the establishment of energy-efficient buildings along with growing inclination toward modern architecture using glass is driving the product growth. Furthermore, the government initiatives including Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings (NZEB) and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) have significantly contributed toward the upsurge in the adoption of smart glasses.

The major industry players operating across the global smart market include Research Frontiers, View, Inc., Gentex, SAGE Electrochromics, Asahi Glass Co., Hitachi Chemical, Pleotint, Glass Apps, Gauzy, SPD Control Systems, Polytronix, Scienstry, RavenWindow, and Smartglass International. In 2018, the industry for smart glass is consolidated with the presence of global and domestic players across the globe. The industry players are coming up with inorganic growth strategies to expand their market presence.