A3TS × GRDF Webinar
A Look at Very High-Performance Self-Recuperative Gas Burners
The replay is available below.
On Thursday, September 24, 2026, A3TS and GRDF brought together 45 participants for a webinar focused on the latest generations of self-recuperative gas burners. Participants included furnace and heat treatment shop managers, energy and maintenance managers, engineering firms, and contractors—representing a diverse range of industries. This is a sign that energy efficiency in thermal processes is now a concern for the entire industry.
An initiative that began at Mattris 2026
This webinar is the result of discussions between A3TS and GRDF during Mattris 2026 in Dunkirk. It kicks off a series of initiatives focused on energy in materials processing. In their introduction, GRDF and A3TS presented the framework for this decarbonization effort: reducing the energy consumption and emissions of thermal facilities while maintaining—or even improving—the competitiveness of businesses.
The Principle of Heat Recovery
In a furnace, a significant portion of the energy is lost in the flue gases. Recuperative and regenerative burners use this heat to preheat the combustion air. The energy recovered in this way is fed back into the process, which improves efficiency, reduces gas consumption, and consequently lowers CO₂ emissions.
Fives: A Complete Line of Products for Efficient, Low-Carbon Combustion
Pablo Arribalzaga, Director of Europe for Fives North American Combustion, opened the technical presentations. Founded in 1918 in Cleveland and acquired by the Fives Group in 2008, the company has its European headquarters in Bilbao and a French office in Marseille. It is heavily involved in the metals, forging, and heat treatment industries.
Fives has structured its decarbonization offerings around five key areas: heat recovery, hydrogen, biofuels, gas/electricity hybridization, and oxy-combustion. The presentation focused on the first of these, highlighting two new developments.
The Tornado is a direct-fired, self-recuperative burner designed for furnaces operating at temperatures up to 1,000 °C. With a power rating of 175 kW (PCI), it preheats the combustion air to approximately 500 °C, resulting in energy savings of about 25%. Its NOx emissions range from 100 ppm to 3% O₂. It is intended for heat treatment, forging, and aluminum homogenization furnaces.
The Evenglow™ IT is a low-NOx self-recuperative burner for indirect heating via radiant tubes. Its efficiency exceeds 74% based on lower heating value (LHV), which is approximately 15% better than conventional burners. For the same input power of 200 kW, the comparison shown indicates a maximum tube temperature that is 64 °C lower. The service life of the tubes is thus approximately doubled, thanks to improved creep resistance. At the same time, heat transfer increases by approximately 10%, boosting productivity. Available in 160, 180, and 200 kW for tubes ranging from 150 to 200 mm, it is compact and suitable for both new installations and retrofits. It is compatible with natural gas and hydrogen-enriched mixtures.
Fives also highlighted two other solutions. The Twinbed regenerative burner, which is installed in more than 300 furnaces worldwide, enables a reduction in CO₂ emissions of up to 45% and is 100% hydrogen-compatible. Very high-temperature burners (4826, Magnaflame, Fireall) operate with air preheated to up to 650 °C, resulting in energy savings of up to 35%.
Honeywell: ECOMAX® HP and WTS®
Honeywell presented its ECOMAX® HP and WTS® solutions.
Saint-Gobain: HeatCor™, the silicon carbide heat exchanger
Saint-Gobain Performance Ceramics & Refractories introduced HeatCor™, a silicon carbide heat exchanger.
What happens next?
This first event kicks off a series of initiatives focused on energy in materials processing. Upcoming dates in the series will be announced on the A3TS website and on LinkedIn.
We would like to extend our warmest thanks to the speakers from Fives, Honeywell, and Saint-Gobain, our partners at GRDF, and all the participants for the high-quality discussions.
Watch the full recording of the webinar below (available only to registered participants; a password is available upon request at a3ts@a3ts.org)