Our Story

We are on a mission to decarbonize the built environment. By transforming recycled glass into foamed glass aggregate with renewable energy, we are proving that low carbon building materials can beat traditional materials on both performance and cost.

Glavel’s story began from a 2016 discovery made by Glavel’s Founder and CEO Rob Conboy at the International Passive House Conference in Darmstadt, Germany. He was searching for building materials that could advance energy efficient construction in North America when he discovered foamed glass aggregate, a lightweight, insulating aggregate with decades of proven performance. Immediately he recognized the potential and committed to bringing it to North America.

Rob spent two years learning the product and understanding the market while identifying how to bring it to North America. In 2019, Glavel began importing foamed glass aggregate from Germany to introduce the product to the Passive House community. Not long after, Rob decided that the most impactful way to bring this product to market in North America was by transitioning away from industry-standard fossil fuel powered kilns, and instead pioneering North America’s first fully electrified foamed glass aggregate kiln.

Glavel now produces industry-leading foamed glass aggregate from 100% post-consumer recycled glass, powered by a 5-megawatt solar array in northern Vermont provided by Encore Renewable Energy. Rob and the Glavel team’s commitment to decarbonization, circularity, and social responsibility continue to drive the built environment to a low carbon future.