Glass industry trends and predictions for 2026
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How will the glass industry change in 2026? Explore some key predictions in our guide to the coming year.
"Tank Control and Devitrification." "Continuous Batch Feeder in Successful Operation on Window Glass Tank." "Natural Gas as Fuel in Glass Furnace Stack." "Progress in Glass Etching."
No, you haven't stumbled on a miscellaneous collection of cryptic crossword clues. These are all the names of articles in a 1926 issue of The Glass Industry.
A quick flick through this publication shows how much and how little has changed in the glass industry in the last 100 years.
On the one hand, it's an industry that continues to innovate in search of ever more refined industrial applications. On the other hand, readers in 1926 would be surprised to learn what's been achieved in the intervening century.
Smart glass. Antimicrobial glass. Ultra-thin glass for smartphones and other electronic devices. Glass that's built with decarbonisation and sustainability in mind. All of these would be as foreign to the industrialist of 1926 as Venmo and Virgin Trains.
It also goes to show just how difficult it is to make predictions. A reader in 1926 might have had some sense of where things were going – but there have been plenty of surprises along the way.
So, when we come to make predictions for 2026, we do so with a pinch of salt. It looks like it will be a year when trends continue to develop – not one where moonshots and history are made. But if there's one thing to be said for history, it's that you rarely see it coming.
In our view, there are three key areas where the glass industry is likely to see change. Perhaps unsurprisingly, these are topics that are sweeping industries of all kinds across the world: AI, the circular economy and decarbonisation.
On top of this, some glass products will continue to move out from the shadow of niche applications into the bright lights of the big time – though perhaps not all the way all at once.
So without further ado, here's what we here at ToughGlaze think you can expect to see in 2026. Let's meet up in 2027 and see how right we were…
Three key glass industry predictions for 2026
1. The rise of AI in glass manufacturing
2025 has been the year of AI, for better and for worse. For every gimmick, there's a breakthrough and for every cause for concern, there's a cause for optimism.
Whatever you think about AI, it's undeniable that it's shaping the global industrial landscape. In fact, it's no exaggeration to say that AI will soon touch every aspect of glass manufacturing.
This is because AI tools are increasingly being used in factories and other industrial facilities. This doesn't mean that glass manufacturers are spitting out AI-generated images or videos. It mainly means that more and more routine tasks are being automated.
Humans make mistakes. AI undoubtedly makes mistakes, too. However, adopters believe that a combination of AI and human handling can improve accuracy in quality control, efficiency optimisation, quality assurance and more.
This is partly a case of data-driven predictions. A glass manufacturer might, for instance, use AI to generate a demand forecast.
AI is also being used for customer-facing tasks, with chatbots replacing customer service teams. As with most of these applications, this is far from specific to the glass industry.
2. The circular economy circles back
Glass can be recycled again and again – infinitely, in fact. So, why is the glass industry not a circular economy?
It's a difficult question with many factors at play. And it's one that will certainly receive a great deal of attention in 2026 and beyond.
The big challenge is how to prolong the product lifecycle, save resources and minimise waste. Recycling and reuse are essential weapons in this fight – but manufacturing processes themselves also need to be made more efficient.
On top of this, recycling collection networks and sorting processes need to be fine-tuned. Without this, perfectly good recyclable materials will continue to end up in landfill.
It's hard to say exactly how this agenda will be pursued. However, legislation like the EU Circular Economy Act, slated for 2026, could make an impact. Just how big that impact will be remains to be seen.
3. Decarbonisation takes priority
The road to decarbonisation is bumpy and winding. But there are signs that the glass industry will continue to decarbonise in 2026. The key points are covered in FEVE's 2025 "Decarbonisation Report".
The industry, the report says, is investing in "breakthrough furnace technologies to enable the energy transition and upgrading existing equipment to be more energy-efficient through its planned life cycle".
Meanwhile, a multi-stakeholder partnership known as "Close the Glass Loop" has laid out a roadmap to 90% glass packaging collection across Europe by 2030.
Add to this the fact that scientists and glass manufacturers across the world are trialling low-carbon ingredient mixes, and it's hard not to think the future of decarbonisation in the glass industry is bright. How these developments fit into the global shift towards decarbonisation is another question.
Will 2026 be the year of switchable smart glass?
Some of the most widely used glass products in 2026 will be the same as in 1926: float glass, for one. But today's glass catalogues contain products beyond the 1920s' wildest dreams.
Smart glass, for instance, is an advanced glass product that lets you change the transparency level of glass with the switch of a button. Sometimes integrated into smart home systems, smart glass is also used in hospitals and offices, among other applications.
At the moment, smart glass is a fairly niche product. But it's gradually on the up, with one report predicting a projected market size of 8.37 billion USD in 2026, up from 7.59 billion in 2025.
Switchable smart glass isn't the only glass product that could be more widely adopted in 2026. Both antimicrobial glass and ultra-thin glass for augmented reality glasses could see an upward trend in the coming year.
But who knows for sure? We'll be sure to let you know how the glass cookie crumbles.
ToughGlaze is a trusted UK commercial glass supplier. For more industry news and analysis, explore our free resource centre.
