The glass industry will need to be fully decarbonized over the next 30 years. The lifespan of a glass furnace is approximately 12–15 years. It is therefore urgently necessary to begin innovating, as 2050 is only two furnace cycles away. H2GLASS will develop the technologies that glass manufacturers need to
- to achieve 100% H2 combustion in its production facilities,
- to ensure the required product quality and
- to handle this safely.
H2GLASS will address the challenges related to NOx emissions, high flame propagation rates, process efficiency, and the supply of H2 for on-site demonstrations.
Digital twins are used for risk-based predictive maintenance, optimized production control, and combustion system control. Hydrogen is supplied via a portable electrolyzer, which is co-funded through the demonstrators. The oxygen produced is used in the process.
H2GLASS technologies and design solutions are being validated up to TRL 7 on five industrial demonstrators across three segments (container glass, flat glass, and glass fiber), which together account for 98% of current glass production in the EU. The expertise of partners such as Steklarna Hrastnik, PTML Pilkington, Owens Corning, and Stara Glass represents the state-of-the-art in the use of H2 in glass production. A demonstrator for the aluminum industry (HYDRO) will ensure the transferability of the solutions and models, as energy-intensive industries share similarities. In the EU, the glass and aluminum industries employ more than 400,000 people, generate more than 3.5 billion euros in revenue, and emit approximately 21.5 million tons of CO2. The innovations of the H2GLASS project have the potential to create 10,000 new jobs and generate revenue of €1 to €5 billion in sales for the glass industry, with over €17 billion in investments and 200,000 new jobs in the green hydrogen sector.
