Glass for Europe attends a roundtable organised by the European Commission’s DG ENER

The meeting, initiated by the new Director-General Céline Gauer, was meant to gather views from energy-intensive industries on priorities to be addressed in the EU energy policies.

Iva Ganev, Environment and Climate Policy Manager, thanked DG ENER for taking into account the sector’s specificities in the Electrification Action Plan published on 17 July 2026. She reminded that partial electrification is one of the sectoral pathways for decarbonisation and that flat glass companies are actively investigating it. However, alongside the significant investments required in this context, she underlined that such projects are not competitive. While the industry is taking care of technological and engineering constraints, public support is necessary to ensure economic viability. I. Ganev also reminded that other decarbonisation solutions exist for flat glass manufacturing, such as the utilisation of biomethane or hydrogen, for which Glass for Europe is also in a dialogue with DG ENER. However, she insisted that for all of these pathways, availability of energy carriers is an issue, alongside their cost.

I. Ganev drew attention to the fact that because of high production temperatures, significant furnace volumes, very strict quality constraints, and a continuous production process, a certain share of natural gas will still be needed at least in the medium term. While DG ENER is currently reflecting on a higher taxation for fossil fuels, this industrial reality needs to be duly considered, otherwise certain industries may find themselves penalised for reasons beyond their control. Finally, she called for the continuation of this dialogue to work towards solutions ensuring both security and affordability of energy supply.

Adrien Carton, Sustainable Construction and Industrial Policy Manager, concluded Glass for Europe’s intervention by highlighting the role of flat glass products in reducing energy consumption in buildings. Against a backdrop of rising temperatures, he stressed that a growing share of building energy demand is being driven by cooling, making passive solutions such as high-performance and solar-control glazing increasingly important.

He also underlined the need for an ambitious Heating and Cooling Strategy from the European Commission. Looking ahead, discussions on energy efficiency should be embedded within the broader debate on energy use and energy systems, recognising the role of the building envelope in reducing overall energy demand, managing peak loads and improving system efficiency.

DG ENER’s representatives acknowledged these concerns and explained that the European Commission is looking for a business case suitable to all market actors. The European Commission’s position that State aid is only a transitional measure was reiterated. The final objective of the current EU energy policy is independence from energy imports, which requires to develop electrification to the extent possible and to combine it with all other possible solutions.