HALIO and GLASSBEL: Partnership for Smart Glass solutions

Lithuanian glass processor GLASSBEL BALTIC integrates the HALIO interlayer into its product portfolio. From now on, GLASSBEL and HALIO customers will be able to purchase HALIO’s switchable insulating glass units (HALIO Smart Glass) fabricated by GLASSBEL in Europe.

With more than 10,000 projects in 30 countries, including the renovated art deco tower One Wall Street, the Dubai Opera House and the London headquarters of Foster and Partners, GLASSBEL is one of the world’s leading premium architectural glass manufacturers with various glass coatings and configurations. “With the HALIO system, we have chosen the most advanced and sustainable smart glass technology. We can now respond to our customers’ increasing demand for switchable facades with an aesthetically and functionally compelling product,” said Dmitri Sobolevski, CEO of GLASSBEL.

The heart of the latest generation HALIO system is the 1.2 millimetre thick HALIO interlayer, which is laminated into laminated safety glass packages. Due to the pioneering sandwich construction, the glass is hermetically sealed with the conductive layers.

“Since the glass structure is not predefined, certified HALIO partners such as GLASSBEL have considerably more options for tailoring the insulating glass units to individual customer requirements, for example with regard to sound insulation or thermal insulation,” explained Robert Jagger, Senior Manager Europe at HALIO. “Working with a European partner also shortens delivery routes and delivery times for HALIO insulating glass units.”

With this move, HALIO, Inc, the renowned, California-based provider of smart glass solutions, is breaking new ground for marketing its latest generation of products in Europe and the Middle East.

“GLASSBEL is incredibly broad-based. We are delighted that the team will be able to combine its lamination and insulating glass expertise with the electro-chromic HALIO interlayer and open up new business areas in its core markets,” said HALIO CEO Bruce Sohn. “In the future, there will be no way around smart glazing, particularly in the area of architectural facades, which can adjust its light transmission level in real-time to the light and weather conditions. But HALIO is also an elegant and convenient solution for energy-efficient passive houses as well as low and zero-energy buildings in the residential sector.”

The cloud-based system comes complete with hardware components and software for control and has – uniquely to HALIO – integrated a 180° High-Definition Sky Camera with illuminance sensor. HALIO is particularly proud of the aesthetic quality of the tinting. With a colour rendering index of 97 percent for double glazing, the glazing is completely colour-neutral and indistinguishable from conventional low-e glass when clear. Transitions through elegant, cool greys typically take less than 30 seconds.