At the beginning of 2025, the two glass manufacturers AGC and Saint-Gobain, inaugurated the new Volta glass production line, combining their respective technical expertise and innovative approaches to help accelerate the transition to clean technologies.
Volta, located at AGC’s Barevka plant in Teplice, is a groundbreaking pilot project designed to significantly reduce CO₂ emissions and support the transition to more sustainable flat glass production. The pilot furnace uses an innovative glass manufacturing technology that has never been implemented anywhere in the world before. As a result, the line is 50% electrified and 50% fired by a combination of oxygen and gas, allowing for a significant reduction in direct carbon emissions. The new technology also focuses on circularity as the Volta hybrid melting furnace is operating at a higher ratio of recycled materials, much higher than the industry standards.
What are the results after one full year of continuous operation?
The pilot has delivered stable and consistent production, providing strong technological validation of the robustness of the hybrid concept. Over the year, operational performance fully met design expectations. Energy consumption, temperature control and float glass quality were confirmed across a wide range of cullet ratios and pull rates. These results strengthen confidence in the scalability of the concept and support its suitability for future industrial-scale deployment.
The higher energy efficiency of the hybrid technology, combined with a 50% share of electricity with certified renewable sourcing and a significant increase in cullet use (88% in standard operation compared with 40% previously), delivers a 66% reduction in fossil fuel consumption and a 71% reduction in Scope 1+3 CO₂ emissions compared to reference (emissions related to gas and raw materials only, according to Innovation Fund accounting). Moving toward large-scale deployment will require substantial investment, and achieving an economically optimal balance between electricity and gas remains a key focus for the next phases of development.
After this first successful year of operation, VOLTA stands as a validated technological platform and a solid cornerstone for industrial-scale extrapolation, supporting both companies’ progress toward low carbon flat glass production.
Learn more about the VOLTA project: https://www.agc-glass.eu/en/sustainability/hybrid-mid-sized-pilot-furnace-for-flat-glass#par-12806