At the float glass plant in Seingbouse, France, AGC has taken a significant step forward in its commitment to decarbonise glass manufacturing thanks to a joint project and partnership with energy company E.ON.
Waste heat to power
As an energy-intensive industry, AGC continuously faces the challenge of improving energy efficiency and reducing our CO2 emissions. The heart of glass production, the float glass furnace, operates at high temperatures. In the past, about 30 percent of the heat from the furnace was lost in flue gas. Now, thanks to this collaboration, that waste is turning into a valuable resource.
In Seingbouse, an innovative Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) plant, with a capacity of 1.3 megawatts (MW), was installed in 2024 to capture the waste heat from the furnace. This technology converts previously unused heat into CO2-neutral electricity, directly powering the facility.
Harnessing solar energy
To further decarbonise, a photovoltaic power plant was installed across 27,000 square metres of the factory’s premises, generating clean, renewable electricity from the sun. A first PV plant of 2.7 MWc was installed in 2024, followed by the installation of a second PV plant of 5,1 MWc which has been operational since the beginning of 2026.
Together, these systems provide the Seingbouse facility with approximately 15 gigawatt hours (GWh) of decarbonized electricity annually —a significant portion of the site’s needs. This prevents around 900 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.
A Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to reduce dependency from volatile energy markets
The project is structured as a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), where E.ON financed, built and operates the facilities, selling the power back to AGC at a fixed price.
This innovative model provides energy security, shields AGC from volatile market prices, and required no initial investment from AGC. The project is also supported by the French government as part of the “France Relance” plan, operated by ADEME.
This initiative builds on a successful partnership with E.ON that began in 2019 and which included various joint energy efficiency projects across Europe, such as the project in Hungary and on multiple sites in the Czech Republic.
The Seingbouse project is an important sustainability action and part of AGC’s Decarbonisation Roadmap.