The new furnace was officially inaugurated on September 10, 2024, in Cognac.
The 180 tpd furnace, equivalent to 300,000 bottles, will be mainly used for flagship Cognac brands.
This makes it the largest electric furnace for glass packaging in the world.
Patrice Lucas, CEO of the Verallia Group, said: "We are very proud to be pioneers in this area.
"It’s our 100% electric furnace, fully illustrating our CSR roadmap and ambitious investment plan to optimise energy consumption at our sites and develop low-carbon furnaces.
"This project is a joint collaboration with Fives Group, with whom we have defined new standards for electric melting.”
Verallia and engineering group Fives signed a strategic partnership in 2022 to enable Verallia to reduce its carbon emissions.
The result is this new all-electric furnace that represents a breakthrough in the production of flint and extra-flint glass.
The technology - Prium E-Melt, developed by Fives - is one of the most advanced technologies available to reduce CO2 emissions at plant level.
The new furnace reduces CO2 emissions by 60% at plant level, emitting between 12,000 and 14,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, compared to traditional gas furnaces, which emit 30,000 tonnes per year.
It also improves energy efficiency: around 95% of the energy is used directly in glass production.
Guillaume Mehlman, President of Steel & Glass at Fives, said: “This is a strategic project for both Verallia and Fives as leaders in low carbon glass making technology.
“Our technology will be a gamechanger for the industry as it enables the highest glass quality with the lowest energy input and minimum carbon emissions.”
The project was supported by ADEME, the French Agency for Ecological Transition, as part of the ‘France 2030’ investment plan.
