US-based Quanex Edgetech will present the HyLight hybrid insulating glass unit (IGU) concept at glasstec 2026, which will take place from 20 to 23 October in Düsseldorf, Germany. In the design, the centre pane of a triple-pane IGU is replaced by an ultra-thin optical PET film.
HyLight was developed by Norwegian technology start-up Hybridized. The company calls the design a Hybrid Insulated Glass Unit (HIGU), or hybrid IGU.
According to Hybridized, the design reduces glass use by approximately 30%. The weight of the IGU is reduced from around 45 to 30 kg/m² while achieving a Ug-value of 0.6 W/(m²·K).
As a result, the triple-pane hybrid IGU weighs approximately the same as a conventional double-pane IGU. Hybridized also claims an approximately 30% reduction in carbon emissions compared with a conventional triple-pane IGU.
To manufacture HyLight, the company uses Edgetech’s Super Spacer flexible spacer. The production process allows it to be applied directly to the ultra-thin intermediate material, which is then combined with standard glass.
Manufacturers can use either optical PET film or thin glass (Skinny Triples, or an IGU with ultra-thin glass) without changing the production process itself. These intermediate materials range in thickness from 0.05 to 1 mm.
Hybridized is developing the technology for existing fully automated IGU production lines. According to the company, manufacturers need to upgrade their equipment rather than install a new production line.
“HyLight shows that a significantly lighter IGU does not require a new factory. By upgrading existing production lines to handle films and thin glass with thicknesses ranging from 0.05 to 1 millimetres, manufacturers can produce hybrid IGUs using the equipment they already have. At the same time, this opens the way to functional glazing configurations that were previously impossible to manufacture,” said Hybridized CEO Atle Geving.
The low weight of the intermediate layers also makes it possible to increase their number without the weight increase associated with using additional panes of glass. Hybridized is exploring the technology for configurations with four or more layers.
Quanex Edgetech is involved in preparing HyLight for industrial production. The company is providing technical expertise and components for development and assisting with climatic testing of the hybrid IGU. Hybridized’s partners also include Austrian glass processing equipment manufacturer LiSEC.
“Both developments demonstrate the significant potential of our industry. At the same time, they show the importance of close cooperation between different partners in successfully bringing new developments to market. Neither the series production of Skinny Triples nor a fundamentally new IGU concept such as HyLight would be possible without close cooperation between glass manufacturers, equipment suppliers and component manufacturers, including Edgetech/Quanex,” said Quanex Vice President of Sales for Europe and the UK Mike Moran.
In addition to HyLight, Quanex Edgetech plans to showcase Skinny Triples technology, or IGUs with ultra-thin glass, at glasstec 2026. The company sees both approaches as ways of reducing glazing weight and thickness while meeting high energy-efficiency requirements.
OKNA.ua previously reported that Swiss company Glas Trösch presented an IGU with ultra-thin glass at BAU 2025 and launched the product on the market the following year under the name Sanco Light.
Photo: Hybridized
From left to right: triple-pane and quadruple-pane IGUs with conventional glass, and HyLight hybrid IGUs
Quanex Edgetech to showcase lightweight hybrid IGU at glasstec 2026
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