Is there a crisis in the smart glass industry?

Abstract

Since around 1980, there have been enormous research efforts worldwide to develop electrochromic systems for use in energy-saving building glazing. Although the first commercial facades were equipped with electrochromic glass as early as 1999, this technology has not yet achieved a major breakthrough on the market. Explanations for this are not only the high costs of the devices but also the insufficient quality parameters of the products. This mainly concerns the colors in clear and bleached state as well as too slow and too low switching range. In addition, stability problems, such as delaminations, led to hesitation among potential customers. Strategies for solving these problems are presented. If these are implemented, it may be possible to introduce switchable dynamic glazing to the construction market on a broad front in the near future.