After eight centuries of Murano glassmaking, a gas crisis is threatening its future

[iemanja]

There has been an unusual silence within the world-famous glass factories of this Venetian island. On a late December day, at the site of the largest producer, all that could be heard was the low buzz of the two furnaces still burning hot — their bellies roiling with molten sand. The 18 other furnaces sat idle, empty and cold.
. . .
In a typical year, the glass factories here power down only once, for maintenance in August. But with Europe in the midst of an energy crisis, facing a 400 percent increase in natural gas bills, the gas-fueled blazes needed to produce Murano’s richly colored, ornate creations have become a luxury the glassmakers can scarcely afford.

The gas crisis stems from a combination of factors — insufficient stockpiles within Europe, constrained supply from Russia and increased competition from Asia for access to liquid natural gas. And with the Kremlin threatening to cut off flows if it is hit with sanctions over Ukraine, the crisis could get worse.

European governments have tried to shield households and businesses from the price spikes. For Murano’s glassmakers, who were already reeling from a pandemic lockdown in 2020 and massive flooding in 2019, support has come in the form of regional and national subsidies intended to help them get through the winter. But with gas prices continuing to rise, the subsidies aren’t expected to last them beyond next month, tops. That’s led companies like Effetre to keep their furnaces off — and some to consider closing up shop for good.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/01/30/murano-glass-gas-crisis/

This story breaks my heart. That glass is so beautiful.

[CentralMass]

1. I wonder if it possible to use small RF (radio frequency) furnaces to heat the glass ?

SNALL rD furnaces are used in the fiber optics industry to heat optical preforms * glass rods that have been fabricated with deposited layers to create a wave guide) to a molten point.

https://mo-sci.com/electric-furnaces-future-glass-manufacturing/#:~:text=The%20thermal%20efficiency%20of%20gas,raw%20materials%20to%20molten%20glass.&text=All%2Delectric%20furnaces%20are%20also,use%20around%2035%25%20less%20energy.

A related link.(for reference only)
https://www.stanelcorftechnologies.com/fibre-optic-technology/

[modrepub]

2. Think It Would Be Difficult

but innovation is the key to this problem. You have to think outside the box sometimes. Hopefully there will be someone there who can figure it out. I don't see Europe's gas situation changing any time soon.

[hippywife]

3. That's really terrible to hear.

Every time you think you've heard some of the worst of what's going on, there's something else that you'd never even considered. To have something like this, continuously going on for centuries, being so impacted by idiocy and greed, which is the at the root of it, is just insanity.

I'm now going to fear for the Czech glass makers, who have also been creating such beautiful glass for centuries, as they're likely to be in the same situation. Their beads are all I buy and use.