GLOBAL FUTURE ANALYSIS


TAILWINDS | GLASS TECHNOLOGY


As element prices skyrocking, silica and glass (sand based) technologies will become more and more important. Elements and energy scarceness and high prices will lead to substitute material technologies. Just because both production and economic processes that are based on low element/energy prices will face a difficult period in times of PeakOil. Element use has double head wind: rising element source prices and on top of that rising energy prices. This because the purifying process of natural appearance of elements to commercial/use state takes a lot of energy. New glass technology will replace iron and aluminum a lot because the commodities that are used in glass manufacturing are widely (as in: unlimited) available everywhere in the world. The desert states will become the new China of the world: producing al kid of glass products (there is enough sand and cheap CSP energy in the deserts). Glass technology is certainly a major economic development in times of rising element shortages.


Author: Gijs Graafland


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