Siemens has revealed it will invest up to £4m over the next five years as part of a new technology partnership with the British Glass Manufacturers' Confederation, a Sheffield-based trade body.
Siemens will work alongside the organisation as it embarks upon the next phase of its development to ensure the UK glass industry remains globally competitive.
A central element of British Glass' growth plan will be the establishment of the British Glass Innovation Centre in Sheffield – thought to be the first of its kind anywhere in the world – which will provide a centre of excellence for glass manufacturers.
The centre, planned to be built on the phase two site of Sheffield Business Park, will include fully functioning glass production plants, as well as promoting leadership in important areas such as new product development and fast prototyping.
It will also be home to The Glass Academy, the training and skills development initiative set up by British Glass to train the next generation of engineers and technicians entering the sector.
Siemens will provide a wide range of technical, product and manpower support to ensure British Glass' plans benefit from world-class manufacturing expertise.
Siemens' Brian Holliday said: "We are impressed by the strategic ambition of British Glass to develop an innovative culture and to make British glass-making a globally competitive leader.
"Siemens has a long established relationship with the glass industry across the UK. By developing this technology partnership we want to ensure glass manufacturing is at heart of the future of manufacturing agenda."
Dave Dalton, chief executive of British Glass, said: "Siemens is the first major partner to commit to working with us on the journey to an exciting and highly competitive future.
"The breadth of Siemens' technical expertise and support offered to us through the partnership will be vital if we are to successfully transform our industry for the 21st century."
Councillor Leigh Bramall, cabinet member for business, skills and development at Sheffield City Council, added: "This is great news for Sheffield. The investment on its own is excellent news and is creating high quality job opportunities.
"But when linked to similar developments along the arc of the junction 33 and 34 of the M1, the city is beginning to realise its potential as one of the major clusters of high value engineering and innovation in Europe if not the world."