Decarbonizing the glass industry with renewable hydrogen - the case of Hrastnik1860 in Slovenia

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Narrative

The glass industry is a major source of GHG emissions in Europe. Glass production is an energy-intensive process and carbon emissions from the production of glass come to a large extent from the combustion of natural gas. Glass is an inert packaging that can be recycled many times so it potentially is sustainable packaging. Ideally, glass is circulated in industrial loops powered only by renewable energy. Hrastnik1860 is a leading global glass manufacturer that has started to replace natural gas with hydrogen. The use of the latter in hybrid furnaces enables the transition to renewable energy through the production of hydrogen from electricity obtained from renewable energy. Hrastnik1860 collaborates with knowledge institutions around Europe in the H2GLASS Horizon 2020 project, in order to advance glass manufacturing based on renewable hydrogen. Industrial research and pilot projects like this one contribute to the transition towards carbon neutrality by mid century.

Financial data

Hrastnik1860 share in the Horizon project: EUR 4.9 million (EUR 2.9 million EU, 2 million own funds)

Recommendations

Focus EU (research, development and demonstration) funding on solutions that are consistent with the transition to carbon neutrality. Emission reduction projects should focus on the phase-out of fossil fuels in industry and manufacturing rather than on using and burning fossil fuels more efficiently. Deep decarbonisation is what is needed, not marginal efficiency improvements.