PROJECT · GLASS & CERAMICS
A European glass producer approaching a major furnace rebuild needed to decide how its next generation of melting capacity should be powered.
Terravia compared electric, hybrid and hydrogen-based furnace pathways across technical performance, energy economics, infrastructure requirements and long-term flexibility.
AT A GLANCE
THE CHALLENGE
The existing gas-fired furnace was approaching the end of its campaign.
Replacing it like-for-like would minimise near-term disruption, but risk locking fossil-fuel consumption into another long operating cycle.
Moving immediately to a fundamentally different technology introduced a different set of risks around process performance, infrastructure and future energy costs.
The company needed to make the decision before those uncertainties were fully resolved.
THREE QUESTIONS
Determine how far electric melting could meet temperature, throughput, glass-quality and operational requirements.
Assess whether hydrogen could retain combustion-based furnace characteristics while delivering meaningful emissions reductions.
Compare technology, infrastructure and energy-price risks rather than selecting a pathway from headline emissions alone.
THE EXISTING ASSET
Before comparing energy carriers, Terravia established the technical requirements that any future furnace configuration would need to satisfy.
ASSESSMENT BASELINE
The objective was not to identify the lowest-carbon technology in isolation. It was to identify the lowest-carbon pathway capable of operating the plant.
THREE PATHWAYS
Three furnace configurations were taken forward for detailed comparison.
PATHWAY A · HIGH-ELECTRIC
High electrical contribution with minimal combustion support.
ADVANTAGES
CHALLENGES
PATHWAY B · HYBRID
A substantial electrical contribution combined with flexible gaseous-fuel combustion.
ADVANTAGES
CHALLENGES
PATHWAY C · HYDROGEN-READY
Combustion-based furnace designed for high hydrogen utilisation.
ADVANTAGES
CHALLENGES
TECHNICAL COMPARISON
*Dependent on hydrogen production pathway.
| Criteria | High-Electric | Hybrid | Hydrogen-Ready |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emissions potential | Very high | High | Very high* |
| Technology maturity | Medium–High | High | Developing |
| Process change | High | Moderate | Moderate |
| Electrical requirement | Very high | High | Moderate |
| Fuel infrastructure | Low | Medium | Very high |
| Operational flexibility | Medium | Very high | High |
| Retrofit compatibility | Low | Medium | High |
| Energy uncertainty | Electricity | Electricity + fuel | Hydrogen |
Could each configuration maintain the required furnace atmosphere and glass characteristics?
Could the technology support continuous production at the required capacity?
Would the new configuration achieve an acceptable operating campaign?
How would operators manage temperature distribution and production changes?
Was the configuration ready for a commercial investment of this scale?
ENERGY ECONOMICS
CAPEX mattered, but long-term energy expenditure dominated the difference between pathways.
Terravia therefore modelled the furnace across twelve combinations of electricity, gas, hydrogen and carbon prices.
No single pathway won under every scenario. The strongest choice depended on how much uncertainty the company was prepared to accept around future electricity and hydrogen prices.
100
Illustrative operating cost index
82–118
Operating cost index
88–112
Operating cost index
105–154
Operating cost index
CRITICAL VARIABLES
The dominant driver of high-electric furnace economics.
The largest uncertainty behind the hydrogen pathway.
Increases the long-term cost of retaining fossil combustion.
Continuous furnace utilisation magnifies differences in energy cost.
Materially affect the delivered cost of large-scale electrification.
Important, but smaller over the full furnace campaign than cumulative energy expenditure.
BEYOND THE FURNACE
Each technology created a fundamentally different infrastructure requirement outside the furnace itself.
ENABLING WORKS
+65 MW
additional electrical capacity
ENABLING WORKS
+35 MW
additional electrical capacity
ENABLING WORKS
~18 kt/yr
future hydrogen requirement
THE DECISION
Terravia recommended a high-electric hybrid furnace rather than committing immediately to either full electrification or hydrogen combustion.
The configuration provided substantial near-term emissions reduction while maintaining sufficient combustion flexibility to protect production performance.
It also avoided making the investment case dependent on large-scale low-carbon hydrogen becoming available at a competitive price by 2032.
01
A high electrical contribution materially lowers direct fossil-fuel consumption from the beginning of the new furnace campaign.
02
The required grid reinforcement remained significant but materially below the requirement for the highest-electric configuration.
03
Combustion capacity provides additional control across changing production conditions and technology uncertainty.
04
The combustion system can be designed to accommodate increasing hydrogen blends if supply economics improve.
INVESTMENT ROADMAP
2027–2028 · VALIDATE
ACTIONS
2028–2029 · ENABLE
ACTIONS
2030–2031 · BUILD
ACTIONS
2032 · CONVERT
ACTIONS
2035+ · OPTIMISE
ACTIONS
THE RESULT
Electric, hybrid and hydrogen-based configurations were evaluated against the same technical and economic framework.
The recommendation was tested across different electricity, gas, hydrogen and carbon-price futures.
The recommended configuration materially reduces fossil combustion from the beginning of the new furnace campaign.
Infrastructure preparation and technology decisions were sequenced around the existing furnace's natural replacement cycle.
PROJECT DELIVERABLES
A structured definition of process, quality, throughput and operational requirements.
Technical comparison of high-electric, hybrid and hydrogen-ready furnace configurations.
Twelve scenarios covering electricity, gas, hydrogen and carbon-price uncertainty.
CAPEX and operating-cost comparison across the full furnace campaign.
Grid, electrical and hydrogen requirements associated with each pathway.
A preferred high-electric hybrid configuration with defined flexibility for future energy-system development.
A phased programme from infrastructure preparation through furnace replacement and future optimisation.
EXPERTISE USED
Compare competing furnace technologies across process performance, infrastructure requirements and long-term energy economics.
Explore Technology & EconomicsSequence enabling infrastructure and major capital commitments around the furnace replacement cycle.
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If you are approaching a major furnace investment and need to choose between electrification, hybrid systems or alternative fuels, Terravia can help test the technologies, economics and infrastructure before the decision becomes irreversible.
Talk to our team