Following a successful commissioning, the Glass Futures technical team has transitioned to 24/7 operation, running a series of experiments to understand furnace performance under standard conditions. These tests will set the benchmark for future trials with low-carbon alternatives such as hydrogen, biofuels and hybrid electric boost, which are due to commence over the next few weeks.
This milestone builds on industrial trials conducted at the end of 2024 and early 2025, during which five different types of liquid biofuels were tested in glass and ceramic production. These trials involved four of the UK’s largest glass manufacturers: Ardagh Group, Encirc (part of the Vidrala Group), Pilkington UK (NSG Group) and O-I, as well as DSF Refractories & Minerals, the UK’s largest shaped refractory producer.
All of this is part of the government-funded Industrial Fuel Switching (IFS) projects, supported by the GBP 1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio managed by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).