• Saint-Gobain and AGC will build what they describe as the world’s largest electric furnace for flat glass production in Avilés, Spain.
• The furnace is expected to electrify 75% of the glass-melting process and cut annual emissions by about 80,000 tonnes of CO₂e.
• The project could reduce natural gas use by roughly 265 GWh annually, supporting lower-carbon glass production for European construction markets.

Saint-Gobain and AGC are preparing to deploy a large-scale hybrid electric furnace in Spain aimed at cutting emissions from one of construction’s most energy-intensive materials.

The FurHy project will replace an existing furnace at Saint-Gobain’s flat glass plant in Avilés. Construction is scheduled to begin in January 2027. Production is expected to restart during the second half of that year.

The companies say the project will deliver the largest electric furnace ever built for flat glass production. If completed as planned, it would provide a new industrial test case for reducing fossil fuel use in high-temperature manufacturing.

Electrification Targets Glass Manufacturing Emissions

Flat glass production requires extremely high temperatures to melt raw materials. Conventional furnaces typically depend heavily on natural gas, creating significant direct emissions.

Saint-Gobain and AGC intend to change that balance through greater electrification.

The new hybrid furnace is expected to electrify about 75% of the melting process. Low-carbon electricity will supply the system through renewable energy agreements secured by Saint-Gobain in Spain.

Once operational, the furnace is expected to avoid approximately 80,000 tonnes of CO₂e each year. That represents an emissions reduction of about 50% compared with a conventional gas furnace.

Natural gas consumption could fall by approximately 265 GWh annually. The companies estimate that would amount to an 80% reduction compared with a standard gas-fired system.

Those reductions are significant for a sector facing growing pressure to decarbonize industrial heat without compromising production volumes or product quality.

Pilot Project Provides Technology Base

FurHy builds on a partnership between Saint-Gobain and AGC Glass Europe that began in 2023.

The companies have already worked together on the VOLTA project in the Czech Republic. That initiative operates a smaller pilot electrified furnace and has been used to test whether electric technologies can support flat glass manufacturing.

The partners say the pilot demonstrated the feasibility of electrification for the sector.

FurHy will now move those technologies to a much larger commercial setting. The shift from pilot-scale development to industrial deployment will be closely watched by other manufacturers facing similar decarbonization challenges.

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Large-scale electrification also brings additional infrastructure considerations. Manufacturers need access to reliable low-carbon power, adequate grid capacity and long-term energy procurement arrangements.

For Saint-Gobain, renewable electricity contracts in Spain provide part of that foundation.

Lower-Carbon Materials Move Up the Construction Agenda

The project also responds to rising demand for lower-carbon construction materials.

Saint-Gobain and AGC expect the furnace to produce flat glass with a substantially lower carbon footprint. The material will serve residential, commercial and infrastructure markets across the region.

That matters because embodied carbon is becoming a larger focus for property developers, construction groups and policymakers. Operational emissions from buildings have traditionally received greater attention. Emissions created during the production of steel, cement, glass and other materials are increasingly moving into procurement decisions.

For construction companies, access to lower-carbon glass could support Scope 3 emissions targets and building-level carbon reduction strategies.

Investors will also be watching the economics. Industrial electrification can reduce exposure to natural gas, but it increases dependence on electricity availability and pricing. Renewable power contracting therefore becomes part of both climate strategy and operational risk management.

The Avilés furnace will provide an important indication of whether highly electrified glassmaking can work economically at industrial scale.

If successful, FurHy could offer a model for other European plants and energy-intensive manufacturers. Its wider significance will depend on whether companies can replicate the technology alongside sufficient renewable electricity, grid infrastructure and supportive industrial policy.