The RUSNANO Portfolio Company SP Glass Has Launched Russia’s Most Up-do-date Glass Production Facility Using Nano-coatings

The opening ceremony was attended by the Governor of Moscow Region, Andrey Vorobyov, and the Chairman of the Board of RUSNANO Management Company LLC, Anatoly Chubais.The facility is a joint project between RUSNANO, NSG Group (represented on the Russian market under the Pilkington brand), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Russian group of companies, STiS.Total investment in the new installation at an existing plant in Ramensky District was about 2 billion rubles.

Launch of the new production line, which uses magnetron sputtering to apply nano-coatings, represents the final stage in creation of full-cycle production of various types of glass with unique properties, obtained by means of multi-layer coatings, each with depth between 5 and 500 nanometers.

The main output at SP Glass will be energy-saving glass of various kinds. Ordinary transparent glass has low energy-saving properties, even when used in double glazing, where most of the heat loss is through the glass itself, entailing high costs for heating and cooling of premises in residential and industrial buildings. Use of energy-saving glass with nano-coatings enables reduction of heat loss during the cold season by 70 percent, and protects buildings from overheating during the summer. Use of energy-efficient glazing could offer savings worth tens of billions of rubles each year In Moscow alone.

The new production line will have annual capacity of about 4 million square meters per year at launch, and capacity should more than double to 10 million square meters when full operating mode is achieved, representing three million windows with average size of 1.5 x 2 meters.

Up to 15 functional layers can be applied at the plant depending upon the specific type of glass, which is required. For example, the new line makes it possible to produce glass that combines energy-saving and self-cleaning properties.

The new nano-coating line is the most advanced and productive in Russia, with capability to produce a wide range of coated glasses and to switch rapidly between different product types. The project will develop new technologies for the production of functional glass with new features, for which Russia has previously relied on imports.

It is important to note that the cost of mass production of windows with energy-efficient glass hardly differs from that of ordinary double-glazed windows. At the same time, use of heat-retaining glass gives 30 percent savings on heating and electricity, and multifunctional coatings can offer even greater savings thanks to air-conditioning and artificial lighting effects.

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RUSNANO was founded as an open joint stock company in March 2011, through reorganization of state corporation Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies. RUSNANO is instrumental in realizing government policies for nanoindustry growth, investing in financially effective high-technology projects that guarantee the development of new manufacturing within the Russian Federation. The company invests in nanotechnology companies directly and through investment funds. Its primary investment focus is in electronics, optoelectronics and telecommunications, healthcare and biotechnology, metallurgy and metalwork, energy, mechanical engineering and instrument making, construction and industrial materials, and chemicals and petrochemicals. The Government of the Russian Federation owns 100 percent of the shares in RUSNANO.

Work to establish nanotechnology infrastructure and carry out educational programs is fulfilled by RUSNANO’s Fund for Infrastructure and Educational Programs, which was also established during the reorganization of the Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies.

Management of the investment assets of RUSNANO are carried out by a limited liability company established in December 2013, RUSNANO Asset Management. Anatoly Chubais is chairman of its Executive Board.