Saint-Gobain is the first manufacturer in the world to carry out a test production of flat
glass using more than 30% hydrogen during Research & Development (R&D) trials at
the Herzogenrath site in Germany.
With this world first, Saint-Gobain has proven the technical feasibility of manufacturing flat
glass with a significant proportion of hydrogen, which will complement other
decarbonized energy sources and will reduce the site's direct CO2 emissions (scope 1) by
up to 70%.
This strengthens Saint-Gobain’s position as a world leader in sustainable construction and
confirms its leading role in helping to build a carbon neutral economy.
This technical feat was made possible by an R&D program launched in 2022, drawing on the
Group's extensive expertise in combustion, glass quality, ceramic refractories materials and
industrial furnace design. The program in question is carried out in collaboration with the
independent German laboratory Gas and Heat Institute Essen e.V. (GWI), a specialist in
industrial gas technologies, and financially supported by the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia
to the amount of 3.64 million euros.
These industrial tests in Herzogenrath have been preceded on a laboratory scale by trials
carried out in two research centers in France: Saint-Gobain Research Paris in Aubervilliers
and Saint-Gobain Research Provence in Cavaillon.
Analysis of the data from these tests will make it possible to deploy the use of hydrogen
in the Group's floats in the decades to come, when low-carbon hydrogen is available in
sufficient quantities.
This breakthrough innovation marks a new milestone in Saint-Gobain's roadmap towards
carbon neutrality in 2050. It complements R&D initiatives on the electrification of glass melting
and notable achievements, such as the world's first zero-carbon production of flat glass at
Aniche in May 2022, thanks to 100% cullet and 100% decarbonized energy (biogas).
