Torgau, Germany, July 27, 2026.  Germany produces more glass than any other country in Europe¹. However, the sector is under pressure to transform: high energy costs, the transition to climate-friendly procedures and a shortage of skilled staff pose challenges on the glass industry. To strengthen this traditional sector, the district of Northern Saxony is building an innovative Glass Competence Center in the town of Torgau. What makes it special is that vocational training and industrial practice are complemented by university research at the location. To do this, training workshops, laboratories, test and pilot facilities are being laid out on 5,300 square meters of floor space within the 3,300-square-meter building complex. The project will be awarded around 34 million euros from the German government’s structural transformation fund. Drees & Sommer, a consulting firm that specializes in construction, real estate and infrastructure, is designing the fit-out of the workshops and laboratories for glass research. Operations are scheduled to start end of 2027.

From Jena’s fire-resistant glass to artificial eyes and modern solar glass, central Germany has been one of Europe's major glass-producing regions for centuries. The district of Northern Saxony is now carrying on this tradition and building a state-of the-art Glass Competence Center next to Torgau’s vocational training center Schulzentrum Nordsachsen (BSZ). “The glass industry urgently needs skilled people, and the sector needs to advance in technology. The Glass Competence Center tackles the two issues and thus strengthens the future viability of the industry and the region,” said North Saxony’s district governor Kai Emanuel. While the district of Northern Saxony acts as the sponsor, Torgau’s GlasCampus is responsible for designing the content-related aspects for the development of the new training and innovation center. A network for skilled professionals has been offering educational and professional development programs for sector specialists since 2019. Part of the network are the public technical and mining university TU Bergakademie Freiberg (TUBAF), the BSZ, and companies of the local glass industry.

New Technologies for an Old Material

The new Glass Competence Center broadens the existing offer and brings together various educational and qualification routes of the glass industry under one roof, from professional and master craftsman training through scientific research up to the testing and implementation of climate-friendly technologies. Kai Emanuel commented: “There are hardly any comparable vocational centers in Germany. The Glass Competence Center will provide a much-needed research and educational facility for the Northern Saxony region, which has yet to have its own university campus.“

The complex will extend over an area of around 3,300 square meters with training, test and pilot facilities. It will have workshops, seminar rooms, a modern machine park and a specialized smelting furnace, where alternatives to energy-intensive glass smelting will be tested. This is where researchers will investigate technologies such as hydrogen and plasma torches, as well as electrically heated smelting processes as alternatives to natural gas. The results will help the companies of the glass sector to accelerate the integration of climate-friendly and efficient technologies into their operations.

When Workshops and Laboratories Share a Building

The expert teams of Drees & Sommer support the district of North Saxony with their specialist and planning expertise. The facilities that the team of experts is planning include workshops for the production of glass as well as wood, aluminum and PVC windows, and a measurement laboratory for glass research. Jakob Mühlwitz, who heads the project at Drees & Sommer, explained why planning the new Glass Competence Center is challenging: “Workshops, machines and research areas are designed to function as an integrated whole in the past. It is our task to integrate various requirements from the education, training, skilled trades and research effectively, to specify them in planning terms, and to coordinate and align all construction and technical interfaces.“ In addition to construction-related requirements, future operational workflows, material and personnel flows, and industrial processes are included in the planning. The experts bring in their experience from past industrial projects. “When planning a production and research building, the key issues are not individual rooms or machines. Instead, it is crucial to consider the entire development and design process. It is only when workflows, machine layout and transport routes are coordinated that operations can run smoothly later on," Jacob Mühlwitz continued.

The launch of construction works for the new Glass Competence Center was marked with a groundbreaking ceremony in April 2026. In a subsequent phase of construction, beginning in 2027, the former adult education center building will be converted into a residential school with 42 places. The funding of the project as a whole comes mainly from the EU Just Transition Fund supporting structural change following the phase-out of lignite.

1. Statistical Report 2025-2026. Glass Alliance Europe.

Torgau, Germany, July 27, 2026.  Germany produces more glass than any other country in Europe¹. However, the sector is under pressure to transform: high energy costs, the transition to climate-friendly procedures and a shortage of skilled staff pose challenges on the glass industry. To strengthen this traditional sector, the district of Northern Saxony is building an innovative Glass Competence Center in the town of Torgau. What makes it special is that vocational training and industrial practice are complemented by university research at the location. To do this, training workshops, laboratories, test and pilot facilities are being laid out on 5,300 square meters of floor space within the 3,300-square-meter building complex. The project will be awarded around 34 million euros from the German government’s structural transformation fund. Drees & Sommer, a consulting firm that specializes in construction, real estate and infrastructure, is designing the fit-out of the workshops and laboratories for glass research. Operations are scheduled to start end of 2027.

From Jena’s fire-resistant glass to artificial eyes and modern solar glass, central Germany has been one of Europe's major glass-producing regions for centuries. The district of Northern Saxony is now carrying on this tradition and building a state-of the-art Glass Competence Center next to Torgau’s vocational training center Schulzentrum Nordsachsen (BSZ). “The glass industry urgently needs skilled people, and the sector needs to advance in technology. The Glass Competence Center tackles the two issues and thus strengthens the future viability of the industry and the region,” said North Saxony’s district governor Kai Emanuel. While the district of Northern Saxony acts as the sponsor, Torgau’s GlasCampus is responsible for designing the content-related aspects for the development of the new training and innovation center. A network for skilled professionals has been offering educational and professional development programs for sector specialists since 2019. Part of the network are the public technical and mining university TU Bergakademie Freiberg (TUBAF), the BSZ, and companies of the local glass industry.

New Technologies for an Old Material

The new Glass Competence Center broadens the existing offer and brings together various educational and qualification routes of the glass industry under one roof, from professional and master craftsman training through scientific research up to the testing and implementation of climate-friendly technologies. Kai Emanuel commented: “There are hardly any comparable vocational centers in Germany. The Glass Competence Center will provide a much-needed research and educational facility for the Northern Saxony region, which has yet to have its own university campus.“

The complex will extend over an area of around 3,300 square meters with training, test and pilot facilities. It will have workshops, seminar rooms, a modern machine park and a specialized smelting furnace, where alternatives to energy-intensive glass smelting will be tested. This is where researchers will investigate technologies such as hydrogen and plasma torches, as well as electrically heated smelting processes as alternatives to natural gas. The results will help the companies of the glass sector to accelerate the integration of climate-friendly and efficient technologies into their operations.

When Workshops and Laboratories Share a Building

The expert teams of Drees & Sommer support the district of North Saxony with their specialist and planning expertise. The facilities that the team of experts is planning include workshops for the production of glass as well as wood, aluminum and PVC windows, and a measurement laboratory for glass research. Jakob Mühlwitz, who heads the project at Drees & Sommer, explained why planning the new Glass Competence Center is challenging: “Workshops, machines and research areas are designed to function as an integrated whole in the past. It is our task to integrate various requirements from the education, training, skilled trades and research effectively, to specify them in planning terms, and to coordinate and align all construction and technical interfaces.“ In addition to construction-related requirements, future operational workflows, material and personnel flows, and industrial processes are included in the planning. The experts bring in their experience from past industrial projects. “When planning a production and research building, the key issues are not individual rooms or machines. Instead, it is crucial to consider the entire development and design process. It is only when workflows, machine layout and transport routes are coordinated that operations can run smoothly later on," Jacob Mühlwitz continued.

The launch of construction works for the new Glass Competence Center was marked with a groundbreaking ceremony in April 2026. In a subsequent phase of construction, beginning in 2027, the former adult education center building will be converted into a residential school with 42 places. The funding of the project as a whole comes mainly from the EU Just Transition Fund supporting structural change following the phase-out of lignite.

1. Statistical Report 2025-2026. Glass Alliance Europe.

Torgau, Germany, July 27, 2026.  Germany produces more glass than any other country in Europe¹. However, the sector is under pressure to transform: high energy costs, the transition to climate-friendly procedures and a shortage of skilled staff pose challenges on the glass industry. To strengthen this traditional sector, the district of Northern Saxony is building an innovative Glass Competence Center in the town of Torgau. What makes it special is that vocational training and industrial practice are complemented by university research at the location. To do this, training workshops, laboratories, test and pilot facilities are being laid out on 5,300 square meters of floor space within the 3,300-square-meter building complex. The project will be awarded around 34 million euros from the German government’s structural transformation fund. Drees & Sommer, a consulting firm that specializes in construction, real estate and infrastructure, is designing the fit-out of the workshops and laboratories for glass research. Operations are scheduled to start end of 2027.

From Jena’s fire-resistant glass to artificial eyes and modern solar glass, central Germany has been one of Europe's major glass-producing regions for centuries. The district of Northern Saxony is now carrying on this tradition and building a state-of the-art Glass Competence Center next to Torgau’s vocational training center Schulzentrum Nordsachsen (BSZ). “The glass industry urgently needs skilled people, and the sector needs to advance in technology. The Glass Competence Center tackles the two issues and thus strengthens the future viability of the industry and the region,” said North Saxony’s district governor Kai Emanuel. While the district of Northern Saxony acts as the sponsor, Torgau’s GlasCampus is responsible for designing the content-related aspects for the development of the new training and innovation center. A network for skilled professionals has been offering educational and professional development programs for sector specialists since 2019. Part of the network are the public technical and mining university TU Bergakademie Freiberg (TUBAF), the BSZ, and companies of the local glass industry.

New Technologies for an Old Material

The new Glass Competence Center broadens the existing offer and brings together various educational and qualification routes of the glass industry under one roof, from professional and master craftsman training through scientific research up to the testing and implementation of climate-friendly technologies. Kai Emanuel commented: “There are hardly any comparable vocational centers in Germany. The Glass Competence Center will provide a much-needed research and educational facility for the Northern Saxony region, which has yet to have its own university campus.“

The complex will extend over an area of around 3,300 square meters with training, test and pilot facilities. It will have workshops, seminar rooms, a modern machine park and a specialized smelting furnace, where alternatives to energy-intensive glass smelting will be tested. This is where researchers will investigate technologies such as hydrogen and plasma torches, as well as electrically heated smelting processes as alternatives to natural gas. The results will help the companies of the glass sector to accelerate the integration of climate-friendly and efficient technologies into their operations.

When Workshops and Laboratories Share a Building

The expert teams of Drees & Sommer support the district of North Saxony with their specialist and planning expertise. The facilities that the team of experts is planning include workshops for the production of glass as well as wood, aluminum and PVC windows, and a measurement laboratory for glass research. Jakob Mühlwitz, who heads the project at Drees & Sommer, explained why planning the new Glass Competence Center is challenging: “Workshops, machines and research areas are designed to function as an integrated whole in the past. It is our task to integrate various requirements from the education, training, skilled trades and research effectively, to specify them in planning terms, and to coordinate and align all construction and technical interfaces.“ In addition to construction-related requirements, future operational workflows, material and personnel flows, and industrial processes are included in the planning. The experts bring in their experience from past industrial projects. “When planning a production and research building, the key issues are not individual rooms or machines. Instead, it is crucial to consider the entire development and design process. It is only when workflows, machine layout and transport routes are coordinated that operations can run smoothly later on," Jacob Mühlwitz continued.

The launch of construction works for the new Glass Competence Center was marked with a groundbreaking ceremony in April 2026. In a subsequent phase of construction, beginning in 2027, the former adult education center building will be converted into a residential school with 42 places. The funding of the project as a whole comes mainly from the EU Just Transition Fund supporting structural change following the phase-out of lignite.

1. Statistical Report 2025-2026. Glass Alliance Europe.