Rusnano, the NSG Group, the EBRD and the STiS Group have signed an agreement to establish a new venture with a total investment of approximately RUB 11.8 billion.
Rusnano, the NSG Group, which operates in Russia under the Pilkington name, the EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) and the Russian STiS Group have signed an agreement to establish a new venture incorporating the production of high-quality glass with special coating.
Total investment in the project will amount to approximately RUB 11.8 billion. Rusnano and the EBRD will invest RUB 2.8 billion and RUB 1.4 billion respectively in common stock. Under the terms of the agreement, the rest of the money will come from other types of financing, including loans and preference shares, RUB 3.2 billion of which will be committed by Rusnano.
One of the main products of the new enterprise will be energy-efficient glass, which gets its unique properties from a special multi-layer coating. Each layer has a thickness between 5 and 500 nanometres. As a result, each layer enables the glass to keep more heat indoors. In many countries 80–100% of all installed windows are made using energy-efficient glass.
The use of energy saving glass in residential and industrial areas can reduce heat loss in times of cold weather by up to 70%, and when the weather is hot the glass protects buildings from overheating in the sun. The use of double-glazed energy-efficient glass can significantly reduce costs related to air conditioning and central heating.
As part of the project, a new production line will be built next to the existing Pilkington plant in Russia located in Ramenskoe in the vicinity of Moscow. High technology coating facilities will also be installed at the same site.
The new glass production plant will produce 240 thousand tons of premium quality glass per annum – of which approximately 100 thousand tons will be further processed into high tech energy efficient coated glass for sale into the Russian building products market.
It should be noted that the cost of mass producing energy-efficient glass windows is only slightly higher than that of the windows made out of conventional glass.
The NSG Group is a global leader in the manufacture of energy-saving glass, with operations in 29 countries worldwide. STiS Group is the largest producer of insulated glass units in the Russian market. The project company will expand its production capacity and also install advanced coating equipment.