Start-Up Zone at glasstec 2026: these are the participating enterprises

In the Start-Up Zone young companies and research projects showcase solutions for glass production, processing, façades, energy and digitalisation. In 2026 eleven teams will take part. Read on to find out who they are, what they are working on and what they will be showing at glasstec.

Those wanting to know which new ideas might be relevant in the glass sector in future, will find very different approaches compactly presented in the Start-Up Zone. The spectrum ranges from automation and AI to battery storage and new coating technologies to solar protection, recycling and adaptive façades.

What is noteworthy here, is that not all participants come directly from the traditional glass industry. Some translate experience and technologies from other industries to applications with glass, while others are university spin-offs or are working on new solutions for concrete challenges along the value chain.

ASEP AUTOMATION provides support wherever glass production needs to be automated. The Croatian engineering company develops control and electrical systems for industrial assets and now contributes its experiences from mining, automotive and process engineering to the glass industry.

Glass production takes a heavy toll on companies’ energy footprints. Bnewable intends to change this and brings smart battery storage systems to the industry with its Voltana platform, that allows companies to make their energy supply more flexible, low-cost and climate friendly.

ClimAd Technology, a spin-off from Eindhoven University of Technology, develops advanced functional films that make glass responsive to its environment. Its adaptive solar-control films automatically change their optical properties in response to sunlight, helping to reduce solar heat gain and excessive daylight while maintaining transparency and views — without electricity, sensors nor active control systems. In addition, ClimAd develops reflective design films that create dynamic, angle-dependent colour effects, opening up new possibilities for expressive and functional glass façades.

Eule27 develops EulenStudio, a consistent software for the simulation, optimisation and process control of interference layers such as low-E-, thermal and anti-reflective coatings from the development “home stretch” to production. With its Edition Large Arena EulenStudio covers inline coating processes and uses complete insulation glass units (IGUs) as target values for optimisation. Closed loop is a widespread desire in the industry that many have failed to achieve so far. While coating service providers used to be dependent on such software tools as OptiLayer or CODE, EulenStudio now provides a more modern, consistent alternative with faster optimisation and interfaces which can be connected directly to existing coating and measuring systems.

Fluidix Applied Materials manufactures water-based temporary protective coatings for float glass and annealed or heat-treatable coated glass. The washer-removable and burn-off materials protect glass, Low-E, and other thin-film coatings against abrasion and corrosion for up to 12 months and remove cleanly during fabrication.

Skip the manual data entry: LUMESO transforms emails, PDFs, Excel-spreadsheets and scanned drawings into clean ERP files by means of AI. This saves glass processors hours of manual work involved in thousands of possible product configurations, reduces errors and accelerates order entry. The Austrian start-up was recognised for this with the German Innovation Award not once but twice.

One of the biggest challenges in façade design is glass that is invisible for birds. PRC Laser addresses this issue by introducing permanent surface and sub-surface laser markings on glass without removing material. Furthermore, the company offers solutions for coating removal and anti-fog laser structuring.

Where conventional recycling comes up against its limits, SAB builds systems that withstand up to 2,500 °C. With the international glass recycling industry in mind, the Austrian company has developed a patented system completely in house – from its initial concept to commissioning.

At Sunphade windows are centre stage: the solar control film developed by the Norwegian Institute for Energy Technology automatically darkens when exposed to sunlight and returns to a clear state in cloudy conditions. It reduces heat and glare by up to 66% without consuming any power – a property that has already convinced institutions such as the University of Oslo.

Today, Smart Glass is often a compound of many different materials. The research team at the University of Turku works towards simplifying this radically by developing a single, completely organic material system that combines several functions without the use of solvents.

For a long time, solar control and solar power were considered a contradiction in terms. The ETH-Zürich spin-off resolves this conundrum with Solskin, an adaptive photovoltaic façade system in front of glass surfaces which increases energy production by over 40% through AI-controlled solar tracking while markedly reducing the cooling energy demands of the building at the same time.

All start-ups will be represented in Hall 11 at glasstec 2026 from 20 - 23 October.