A pilot hybrid glass furnace construction by Saint-Gobain Glass and AGC has completed its first full year of continuous operation. The Volta furnace was commissioned in 2025 on AGC’s existing patterned glass production line at the Barevka plant in the Czech Republic. The furnace was built to be 50% electrified and 50% burned by a combination of oxygen and gas.

Saint-Gobain officials say the purpose of the demonstration is to prove that a hybrid glass furnace can combine electric melting and oxygen-gas combustion at an industrial scale and can also be applied to large float glass furnaces. Officials explain that over the past year, the furnace has “delivered stable and consistent production, providing strong technological validation of the robustness of the hybrid concept.”

Officials note that energy consumption, temperature control and glass quality at the level of float glass were confirmed across various cullet ratios and pull rates.

“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),” reads a Saint-Gobain news release.

Officials say the next phase of the project will focus on ensuring a cost-effective balance between electricity and gas. They note that commercial deployment of the furnace will require significant investments, but overall, the demonstration has strengthened confidence in the scalability of the concept and supports the suitability for future industrial-scale deployment.