FM newsroom – construction industry, circular economy. An energy trading and service company from Pécs, Hungary, saw a market niche and started the project of manufacturing thermal insulation from the recycling of industrial glass waste.
Pécs-based Hungaro Energy, which sells natural gas and electricity, provides related maintenance activities, and offers energy consulting, has begun producing foam glass used for thermal insulation in the construction industry.
According to the press release of the company, which has been operating since 2008, the company won HUF 1.5 billion in conditional non-refundable European Union support under the Economic Development and Innovation Operational Program Plus (Ginop+) for the start of the company’s new activity and the necessary technological background to create, fmbusiness.hu reports with reference to MTI.
Biomass boiler, glass waste processor, circular construction product
Within the framework of the project, the company acquired the necessary equipment for the production of foam glass – such as a production line that processes waste glass, produces glass tiles and glass flour, and creates foam glass, as well as a biomass boiler with a capacity of 40 kilowatts.
According to the announcement, the company started producing foam glass, an insulating material that can be used in the construction industry, because it discovered a market gap in the efficient recycling of used municipal and industrial glass waste, such as bottles, mason jars, windows, and windshields.
Tightening building, environmental regulations: foam glass about to become a hit?
According to the company’s expectations, the new development of the company will be marketable because – due to the tightening of construction and environmental protection regulations and the desire of investors for energy-efficient technologies – the demand for foam glass in the region will increase explosively in the short term.
According to publicly available company data, Hungaro Energy Natural Gas, Energy Trading and Services Ltd. had net sales of HUF 41.852 billion in 2023, up from HUF 8.884 billion a year earlier, with more than a fifth of its revenues coming from exports. The company closed with a profit of HUF 141 million in 2023, compared to HUF 195 million after tax in 2022.
