Saint-Gobain Produces the First Zero-Carbon Flat Glass

Saint-Gobain announced it is the first manufacturer in the world to produce flat glass without carbon. The company says the technological feat was achieved last week by using 100% recycled glass (cullet) and 100% green energy produced from biogas and decarbonized electricity, at its flat glass manufacturing plant in Aniche, northern France.

Saint-Gobain mobilized the network of partners it developed to focus on circularity, with the use of 100% cullet from end-of-life glass from renovation or demolition sites and from production offcuts. The company says the group’s industrial and research teams succeeded in adjusting all of the furnace’s technical parameters to the dual challenge of operating with 100% recycled material and 100% biogas, while ensuring the right optical quality of the glass. The pilot production was implemented for one week, and Saint-Gobain says the success demonstrates its capacity for innovation throughout the value chain. The company says this achievement is a demonstration of its commitment to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and complements the group’s investment announced last year to build the world’s first carbon neutral plasterboard plant in Norway. It also further strengthens the group’s position as the worldwide leader in light and sustainable construction and its leading role in helping to build a carbon-neutral economy, according to the company.