Saint-Gobain and AGC Group are joining forces to deploy the world’s largest hybrid highly electrified furnace for flat glass production at Saint-Gobain’s plant in Avilés, Spain. The project, known as FurHy, is designed to significantly reduce the carbon intensity of flat glass manufacturing by replacing the plant’s existing furnace.
Construction is scheduled to begin in January 2027, with flat glass production expected to resume in the second half of 2027. The new furnace will achieve approximately 75% electrification of the melting process, making it a major step forward in the industrial-scale electrification of flat glass manufacturing. It will operate using low-carbon electricity, supported by renewable energy supply agreements secured by Saint-Gobain in Spain.
Once operational, the furnace is expected to avoid approximately 80,000 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions annually, representing a reduction of around 50% compared with a conventional gas-fired furnace. At the same time, it is projected to save approximately 265 GWh of natural gas per year, equivalent to an 80% reduction in natural gas consumption compared with a standard gas furnace.
The FurHy project builds on the companies’ technological cooperation through the VOLTA project, a smaller-scale electrified furnace that has been operating in the Czech Republic since 2023. The pilot demonstrated the feasibility of electrification technologies for reducing emissions from flat glass melting and provided a technological foundation for the much larger Avilés installation. 
The new furnace is expected to enable the production of lower-carbon flat glass meeting the best existing international standards, supporting demand from the residential, non-residential and infrastructure sectors.
The project is being developed through a technological partnership between Saint-Gobain and AGC Glass Europe and is funded by the European Union Emissions Trading System (ETS) Innovation Fund. It represents a significant industrial milestone in the transition toward lower-carbon glass manufacturing and supports Saint-Gobain’s ambition to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Source: Saint-Gobain with additional information added by Glass Balkan
