RePowerEU and the need to ensure continuous gas supply to the flat glass industry

The European Commission’s REPowerEU Plan, released yesterday on 18 May, 2022, aims to phase out the EU’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels and speed up the decarbonisation of the EU society. Reducing energy consumption, diversifying supplies, and substituting fossil fuels are the 3 main pillars of the REPowerEU plan. Pillars which must be supported by an efficient combination of investments and reforms.

In a video statement released in reaction to the REPowerEU plan, Bertrand Cazes, Secretary General of Glass for Europe, calls “on EU and national authorities, to recognize the specific need of continuous glass production, when they design prioritization criteria of non-protected customers, such as industry, for the supply of gas in case of shortages.”

As acknowledged by the European Commission, minimizing energy consumption in the medium term is crucial to reduce Europe’s energy dependency. The Council and the Parliament are expected to increase the ambition of both the energy efficiency directive and the energy performance of building directive in order to grasp the energy saving potential of building renovation.

Only an energy efficient building stock can ensure Europe’s energy resiliency. The European flat glass industry should be allowed to continue to produce the much-needed high-performance glazing products for new buildings as well as for renovation. « In the immediate short term, it is critical that the uninterrupted supply of natural gas is guaranteed to our industrial installations.” concluded B. Cazes. “Our glass melting furnaces cannot stop due to the continuous production process.”