Saint-Gobain and AGC Group are joining forces to deploy a large-scale hybrid furnace with a 75% electrified melting process. The technology is designed to significantly reduce direct CO₂ emissions from flat glass production. The new furnace will be installed at Saint-Gobain’s flat glass plant in Avilés, Spain, replacing the existing furnace.
Construction of the new furnace is scheduled to begin in January 2027, with production expected to resume in the second half of the same year. The FurHy project is being developed through a technological partnership between Saint-Gobain and AGC Glass Europe. It builds on the cooperation launched in 2023 through the VOLTA project, a pilot-scale electrified furnace operated in the Czech Republic.
The tests carried out as part of the VOLTA project demonstrated the feasibility of using electrification technologies to reduce emissions associated with the melting of flat glass. The next step is to scale these solutions up for industrial production.
75% electrification of the melting process
The new hybrid furnace is expected to achieve a 75% electrification rate for the glass melting process. The electricity used to power the furnace will come from low-carbon sources, supported by renewable energy supply agreements secured by Saint-Gobain in Spain.
According to the companies, the installation will be the largest electric furnace ever built for flat glass production, making it a world-first and an important step forward in the electrification of glass manufacturing and the reduction of its carbon footprint.
Once operational, the furnace is expected to:
» avoid approximately 80,000 tonnes of CO₂e emissions per year, corresponding to a reduction of around 50% compared with a conventional gas-fired furnace;
» reduce natural gas consumption by approximately 265 GWh per year, equivalent to an 80% reduction compared with a standard gas furnace;
» enable the production of lower-carbon flat glass meeting the highest existing international standards;
» support the growing demand for more sustainable solutions in the residential, commercial and infrastructure sectors across the region.
Another milestone in Saint-Gobain and AGC cooperation
The FurHy project represents another milestone in the technological cooperation between the two companies in the field of glass production decarbonisation. Experience gained through the VOLTA project made it possible to test electrification technologies under industrial conditions and prepare them for deployment on a significantly larger scale.
Our technological partnership with AGC is reaching a new milestone with the deployment of the world’s first large-scale hybrid electric furnace for flat glass production. This project demonstrates our ability to turn pioneering technologies into industrial reality, further strengthening Saint-Gobain’s position as a partner for customers looking for lower-carbon solutions – says Nicolas Miègeville, Chief Technology Officer at Saint-Gobain.
He adds that, following the launch of ORAÉ®, Saint-Gobain’s very low-carbon glass, the project represents another major step towards decarbonising flat glass manufacturing and achieving the company’s ambition of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Support from the European Innovation Fund has also played an important role in making the project possible.
Electrification as part of the decarbonisation strategy
AGC is also developing technologies and products designed to reduce the environmental impact of glass manufacturing. The company launched its first low-carbon glass range at the end of 2022. Another important milestone was the development of a hybrid furnace for a mid-sized patterned glass production line in Barevka, Czech Republic.
The development of a hybrid melter for a mid-sized patterned glass production line in Barevka was an important milestone in our journey towards becoming carbon neutral as a company by 2050. The next step – jointly deploying a large-scale hybrid furnace for flat glass production with Saint-Gobain in Avilés – represents a significant leap forward in the electrification of flat glass melting – says Davide Cappellino, President Architectural Glass Europe & Americas at AGC.
The FurHy project forms part of the broader efforts of both manufacturers to reduce emissions from flat glass production. Combining low-carbon electricity with a significant reduction in natural gas consumption is expected to enable the production of flat glass with a substantially lower carbon footprint while maintaining industrial-scale production.
source: saint-gobain.com
