ROMA (ITALPRESS) – The new increase in the price of gas, back beyond the threshold of 80 euros per MWh, puts at risk the competitiveness and production continuity of the Italian glass industry. Assovetro asks the Government to take immediate action to reduce the cost of energy sustained by gaseous companies and prevent the current crisis from determining stops of plants, loss of employment and delocalization of production capacity. For the glass industry natural gas is the main energy input and, in many productions, covers more than 80% of the requirements. The furnaces work on a continuous cycle and cannot be turned off waiting for more favourable market conditions: a stop can cause significant damage to the plants and require months, in some cases years, for the full reboot of the production.
Energy represented 18.9% of production costs in 2024, after 22.1% of 2023 and almost 29% of 2022, when in some cases the incidence reached peaks of 56%. The return of gas above 80 euros per MWh is now likely to bring the sector back to levels incompatible with an economically sustainable production. The current phase also has more critical conditions than 2022 and 2023: prices do not show signs of reduction, while many companies have more limited coverage than before.
“With these prices the industrial balance does not hold,” says Vitaliano Torno, president of Assovetro. “The current crisis is, in many respects, more serious than that of 2022 and 2023. Then many companies still had contracts concluded during a relatively low price stage, at least in part. This adds an increasingly difficult competitive gap to fill: in Europe gas can cost up to eight times more than in the United States, while several Asian and North African competitors benefit from reduced energy, lower environmental constraints and much more favourable tax conditions”.
In 2025 the Italian glass industry produced more than 5.5 million tons, generating a total turnover of approximately 9 billion euros. Assovetro represents 70 companies and about 16.000 direct employees, to which is added a wide induced formed by maintenance companies, plants, transport, logistics, raw materials, collection and treatment of scrap.
The consequences of the energy crisis would not remain confined to the glassworks. Glass is an essential component for the food and beverage industry, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, automotive, construction, insulation, household appliances and technical and electrical applications. A reduction in national production would result in increased costs along these supply chains, increased dependence on imports and risks for the continuity of supply.
“Defend glass production means protecting an industrial heritage built in decades, thousands of jobs and the ability to supply key sectors for the country,” continues Torno. “In these weeks the enterprises are deciding investments that will determine the industrial future of the next five years. The visibility of possible supports that the Country System intends to ensure productive activities is decisive, but today lacks: the perception of a credible and stable commitment also weighs on localization choices. Without a clear perspective on energy costs, the closure of an oven can turn into the definitive loss of productive capacity, skills and occupation in the territories”.
The reduction of production capacity would also affect the circular economy. In 2025 the recycling rate of glass packaging reached 82.1%. The glassworks are the industrial outlet of the glass collected and processed: if the plants are reduced, the national collection and recycling system loses economic sustainability. The imported and consumed glass in Italy must however be collected and recycled in our country, with the risk of greater costs for the community and an increasing use of disposal.
Assovetro’s proposals focus on two guidelines: to decouple the price of the marginal share more expensive from the rest of the market and to allow gas companies to access long-term supplies under conditions compatible with the international industrial competition.
“It needs a decoupling even in the gas market,” says Marco Ravasi, vice-president of Assovetro with delegation to Energy. A limited share of gas exchanged around 80 euros per MWh ends up fixing the reference price for the entire market. It is not sustainable that the marginal component, more expensive, transfer its price to all supplies, regardless of their actual supply costs. It is necessary to correct this mechanism and make sure that the price paid by industry better reflects the structure and diversification of Italian supply”.
“With a contingent remedy, we need a structural solution,” Ravasi concludes. “Industrial consumers must be able to participate in import contracts and access long-term supply agreements based on actual supply costs, at industrial prices and not fully exposed to market fluctuations. Investment decisions are taken now: without a reliable horizon on energy costs, new production capacity and employment risk moving out of Italy and Europe.”.
– photo logo Assovetro –
(ITALPRESS).
