Page 65 - Glass Machinery Plants & Accessories no. 2-2020

For the first time ever, European container glass container producers have
glass manufacturers have come together to
build the world’s first large-scale hybrid electric
furnace to run on 80 per cent green electricity.
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. This joint approach
intends 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. glass with virgin raw materials,
FUNDAMENTAL MILESTONE
The ‘Furnace of the Future’
is a fundamental milestone in
the industry’s decarbonisation
journey towards climate-neutral
glass packaging. For the very first
time, the industry has adopted a
collaborative approach in which
glass machinery plants & accessories 2/2020 63
mobilised resources to work on
and fund a pilot project to prove
the concept.
“We are extremely proud
to announce this joint-indus-
try project,” comments Michel
Giannuzzi, President of FEVE.
“The hybrid technology is a step-
change in the way we produce
and will enable us to significant-
ly reduce the carbon footprint
of glass packaging production.
The move marks an important
milestone for the glass sector in
implementing our decarbonisa-
tion strategy.”
The industry already works
with electric furnaces in several
of its 150 glass manufacturing
plants across Europe, but they
are small scale and exclusively
used to produce flint (colourless)
therefore using very little or no
recycled glass content. With this
new technology, the industry will
be able to produce more than
300 tonnes per day of any glass
colour, using high levels of recy-
cled glass.
ARDAGH’S ROLE IN THE
PROJECT
Ardagh Group – the second
largest glass packaging manu-
facturer in the world – has vol-
unteered to build the furnace in
Germany. It will be built in 2022,
with an assessment of first results
planned for 2023.
“With this new technology we
are embarking on the journey
to climate-neutral glass packag-
ing, and ensuring the long-term
sustainability of manufacturing,”
states Martin Petersson, CEO of
Ardagh Group, Glass Europe.
“We aim to demonstrate the
viability of electric melting on a
commercial scale, which would
revolutionise the consumer glass
packaging market.”
Bringing the ‘Furnace of the
Future’ to life is an extremely
ambitious project requiring sig-