For the first time ever, European container glass manufacturers have come together to build the world’s first large-scale hybrid electric furnace to run on 80% green electricity.
The industry’s collective ‘Furnace of the Future’ pilot project is a breakthrough technology that will allow us to switch to green energy like electricity. It will be the world’s first large-scale hybrid oxy-fuel furnace to run on 80% renewable electricity.
- Capable of processing over 300 tonnes of glass per day
- Replacing fossil fuel energy sources via a hybrid furnace using up to 80% green electricity
- Able to melt all kinds of glass together with recycled glass
This pioneering hybrid technology will become a major milestone towards climate-neutral glass packaging. Already today, by using more recycled glass, we can dramatically reduce CO2 emissions, by 5% for each 10% more recycled glass used. This will replace current fossil-fuel energy sources and cut CO2 emissions by 50%.
For the very first time, 20 industry companies have joined forces to create, fund and test a pilot furnace project under real-life conditions to see if it can fully meet both technical and market criteria. Ardagh Group – the world’s second-leading glass packaging manufacturer – has volunteered to build the furnace in Germany. Through this joint approach, we intend to seek the support of the European Commission’s EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) Finance for Innovation Fund Programme in 2020.
The furnace will be built by 2022, with first results in 2023.