Global Anti-Reflective Glass Market - Forecast(2024 - 2030)

Global Anti-Reflective Glass Market Overview

Global anti-reflective glass market size is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 8.5% during the forecast period 2022-2027. Anti-reflective glass is a specialized type of glass used to reduce reflections. Anti-reflective coatings on glass produce a clear finish with residual reflectance reduced to as little as 1%.  Anti-reflective coatings produce a glass that is very clear, without coloration or tint. In addition, anti-reflective coatings can be designed for the UV, visible, or IR spectrum on borosilicate, soda lime, and heat-tempered glass.  Anti-reflective glass is used in architectural applications where full transparency through the glass is of high importance, such as shop fronts or showrooms. Anti-reflective glass in LCD display makes the picture look brighter and vivid so it is being widely used in electronics which also acts as a driver for the global anti-reflective glass market.

COVID-19 Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted economics and affected every industry. The electronics industry is no exception. Due to lockdowns and stay-at-home mandates production came to a halt due to factories shutting down. There was also the problem of unavailability of workers due to safety concerns over the spread of the virus. This led to global supply chain disruptions and shortages. IPC, an electronics equipment trade organization, a survey of 150 participating electronics manufacturers and suppliers was conducted, 65% of them reported delays from suppliers due to the spread of coronavirus. The problem being many manufacturers' supply chains relies on China, which is the hub of electronic component manufacturing. This also affected the global anti-reflective glass market.

Report Coverage

The report: “Global Anti-Reflective Glass Market – Forecast (2022-2027)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the global anti-reflective glass industry.

By Type: One-Sided and Two-Sided

By Substrate: Soda Lime Glass, Borosilicate Glass, Quartz, Fused Silica, and Others

By Technology: Thin Film Coating, Pyrolytic Coating, Dip Coating, and Others

By Application: LED, Architectural Windows, Solar Panels, Electronic Display, and Others

By End-Use Industry: Automotive (Passenger Vehicles, Commercial Vehicles, and Heavy Duty Vehicles), Electronics (TVs, Smartphones, Laptops & Computers, Smartwatches, Cameras, and Others), Solar Energy, Building and Construction (Façade, Partitions, Balustrades, Wall Panels, Windows, Railings, Others), and Others (Frames for Paintings and Photographs, Exhibit Cases, Storefront Displays, Advertising Panels, and Others)

By Geography: North America (USA, Canada, and Mexico), Europe (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Russia, Belgium, and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Rest of APAC), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Rest of South America), Rest of the World (Middle East and Africa)

Key Takeaways

• Asia-Pacific dominates the global anti-reflective glass market, on account of a large number of end use industries in this region. According to Invest India, the electronics device industry in India is anticipated to reach $400 billion by 2025
• Anti-reflective glass reflects a very low percentage of light and offers maximum transparency and optical clarity. This makes it suitable for all applications where transparency is required such as in storefront displays, exhibit cases, and showrooms.
• Anti-reflective glass can be coated on one or both sides. The coating can be designed for the UV, visible, or IR spectrums on any type of substrate even on heat-tempered glass or Gorilla Glass.
  

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Global Anti-Reflective Glass Market Segment Analysis – By Type

The two-sided segment held the largest share in the global anti-reflective glass market in 2021 up to 60%. Anti-reflective glass is a heat tempered glass that is coated on one or two sides to diminish reflections and increase the light transmission in order to minimize the surface glare and increase transmission and brightness thereby offering better contrast. Anti-reflective coating on both sides of the glass is generally preferred as a single surface coating improves the transmission to 95% and a two-sided coating improves light transmitted to 98-99%. Anti-reflective glass is being increasingly used in solar panels. The efficiency of the solar panels is directly proportional to the amount of energy irradiated which depends on transmission. So, double-sided coating boosts solar glass transmission by roughly 5%. For instance, PPG’s Solarphire 2XAR two-sided, anti-reflective glass can achieve solar transmittance of up to 96.3% in the visible and near-infrared spectrum, from 400 to 1,100 nm, which enables photovoltaic components to collect and concentrate solar energy more efficiently. Therefore, the two-sided segment is forecasted to dominate the global anti-reflective glass market.

Global Anti-Reflective Glass Market Segment Analysis – By End Use Industry

The building and construction segment held the largest share of more than 30% in the global anti-reflective glass market in 2021. Anti-reflective glass is a specialized glass that is treated to reduce the amount of reflection seen from the face of the glass. Due to their clear appearance, they are widely used in buildings. They are used for shop fronts and commercial frontages, where vision is important, particularly at night time, for instance, panoramic restaurants, air traffic control towers, petrol station windows, etc. Building and construction industry has begun using a lot of glass due to the ongoing trend of green buildings. As glass is 100% recyclable it is an excellent material for use in green buildings. The International Finance Corporation estimates that green buildings represent a US$24.7 trillion investment opportunity by 2030. The construction sector is critical to economic recovery. Therefore, the building and construction sector is set to dominate the market for global anti-reflective glass market.

Global Anti-Reflective Glass Market Segment Analysis – By Geography

The Asia-Pacific region held the largest share in the global anti-reflective glass market in 2021 up to 45%, owing to a large number of electronic manufacturing industries in the region. Asia is the world’s largest electronic products manufacturing and exporting region, on account of the region’s low labour costs, availability of skilled workers, and increasing foreign direct investment. In 2021, the electronics and IT industries enjoyed a surge in server and semiconductor sales as the shift to work from home drove network augmentation and demand for 5G smartphones, while consumers stuck at home replaced their televisions with large-screen 4K models. It is expected that Asia’s electronics industry, led by China, India, South Korea, and Japan will continue to grow and further strengthen its position in the global market over the coming years. China has a massive electronics base and manufacturing facilities for semiconductors. In India, the government introduced the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes for large-scale electronics manufacturing and IT hardware for enhancing India’s manufacturing capabilities and enhancing exports.  The Make in India and Digital India initiatives are further driving the market growth. According to the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA), global production by Japanese electronics and IT companies is expected to grow 8% YoY in 2021 to 37,300 billion yen and in 2022 up 2% to 38,000 billion yen. Anti-reflective glass is specially designed for high-performance applications for a wide variety of displays, especially LCD displays. Therefore, the growth in the electronics sector also drives the growth of the anti-reflective glass industry in the region.

Global Anti-Reflective Glass Market Drivers

Rapid Adoption of Solar Energy and Increasing Solar Energy Capacity

Concerns over depletion of fossil fuels, volatile crude oil prices, pollution, and global warming are driving the adoption of solar energy. In addition, the race to net-zero is leading to the widespread implementation of solar projects. Governments all over the world are framing policies for the adoption of solar energy. The government of India launched various schemes to encourage the generation of solar power in the country like Solar Park Scheme, VGF Schemes, CPSU Scheme, Defence Scheme, Canal bank & Canal top Scheme, Bundling Scheme, Grid Connected Solar Rooftop Scheme, etc. The Solar Investment Tax Credits have proved to be one of the most successful US government schemes in encouraging solar power generation. According to data from China’s National Energy Administration, at the end of 2020, distributed solar accounted for about 78 GW (30%) of the 253 GW of China’s installed solar generation capacity. According to data released by Svensk Solenergi and the Swedish Energy Agency, Sweden reached a 1GW solar capacity milestone in mid-April 2021.   Another advantage of using anti-reflective glass in solar panels is that the glare from the solar panels will be reduced. This allows the panels to be installed near airports without blinding the pilots. Hence, the implementation of solar energy acts as a driver for the global anti-reflective glass market. 

Increasing Applications in Electronics

Anti-reflective glass is a non-conductive, wide-band coating designed to perfectly minimize reflection and maximize transmittance on glass over the visible, UV, or IR spectrums. Anti-reflective glass helps reduce surface reflections while increasing light throughput or brightness of the viewed image. Standard anti-reflective glass is not diffusive and is, therefore, able to maintain the highest levels of image resolution and clarity. This makes it an ideal choice for LCD displays, smartphones, gaming devices, medical devices, and other electronic devices. Anti-reflective glass is oleophobic. Due to this property the screen does not collect fingerprints making it ideal for touchscreen devices. It is used in hospital equipment screens as it delivers clear and unrestricted images to ensure effective supervision of a patient’s condition and make correct treatment assessments. It is also used in digital signage not just for advertisements but also for public transportation systems as digital signboards provide information about arrival/departure time and other important information. Thus, the increasing applications of anti-reflective glass in electronics drive the global anti-reflective glass market. 

Global Anti-Reflective Glass Market Challenges

Shortage of Raw Materials for Making Glass

The raw materials used to make glass are Silica (70%), Soda ash (15%), limestone, or dolomite (8%) and the remaining percentage includes feldspar or other trace materials. Dense soda ash, light soda ash, and baking soda are the three types primary grades of soda ash available in the market. Dense soda ash is used in the manufacturing of glass as it regulates the temperature of the furnace. 50% of the soda ash produced is used in the glass industry. According to the Trading Economics Website, soda ash is widely traded on spot in Europe and Asia. The price of soda ash has increased from 11,150 per ton to 26,475 per ton in 2021. Economic recovery caused an increase in demand for soda ash which led to a shortage and therefore the price surge. Also, the shortage of containers contributed to the price surge. Tata Chemicals, the largest producer of soda ash in the world stated that the rise in soda ash prices has helped the company's stocks to rally by 200% in the past year. Since the beginning of 2021, the stocks have gained 85%. Thus, the shortage of raw materials for making glass can restrict the growth of the global anti-reflective glass market. 

Global Anti-Reflective Glass Industry Outlook

Product launches, acquisitions, and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in this market. Global anti-reflective glass top 10 companies include:

1. Saint-Gobain S.A
2. Abrisa Technologies
3. Essilor International
4. GroGlass
5. Guardian Glass
6. IQ Glass
7. JMT Glass
8. Asahi Glass Company
9. Schott
10. Tec Groupe

Recent Developments

• In December 2021, Guardian Glass Europe launched Guardian SunGuard SNX 70. SunGuard SNX 70 is a new triple silver-coated glass that boasts outstanding solar control and light transmission approaching 70% plus high thermal insulation.

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