Eyewear production in Linz natural gas-free from April 2026

We are completely eliminating fossil natural gas at our Linz location. By electrifying key production steps, our eyewear production will operate 100% without fossil natural gas starting in April 2026. This will save us several hundred megawatt-hours of natural gas and more than 100 tons of CO₂ annually.

„The decarbonization of industry is one of the great challenges of our time. By eliminating natural gas at our Linz site, we are demonstrating that emission reduction measures can be economically viable,” said Thomas Windischbauer, COO of the Silhouette Group.

A major milestone was already reached in 2025: In the coating facility, the exhaust air purification system was converted from gas-fired afterburning to an electric solution powered entirely by renewable electricity. This change saves around 363 MWh of natural gas annually and reduces emissions by approximately 85 tons of CO₂e.

The final step will follow in 2026: Converting the last gas-heated warehouse will save an additional 70 MWh of natural gas and around 18 tons of CO₂e per year.

On World Earth Day 2026, themed “Our Power, Our Planet,” we are showing that transformation is not limited to strategies and targets, but is being put into practice in day-to-day industrial operations.

For us, this means that not only is the so-called “hot air” disappearing from the discussion on sustainability, but fossil natural gas is also being eliminated from production.