F4F’s carbon-cutting glass production tech progresses to EU Innovation Fund’s second phase

31 Mar 2021 --- The glass packaging sector is increasingly targeting low-carbon production, such as electric melting, but these solutions are typically restricted to small-scale clear glass furnaces with limited recycled glass content.

The Furnace for the Future (F4F) project can make electric melting work in a large-scale, industrial hybrid oxy-fuel furnace, running on 80 percent renewable electricity. 

“No furnace in the world has been able to produce colored glass at this scale with electric melting and high levels of cullet,” Fabrice Rivet, director of environment, health and safety at the European Container Glass Federation (FEVE), tells PackagingInsights.

Selected as one of the top 70 of 311 applicant projects, F4F is progressing to phase two of the EU Innovation Fund, one of the world’s largest funding programs for the demonstration of innovative, low-carbon technologies.

“Glass is a permanent material, meaning it can be endlessly recycled without losing its intrinsic properties,” Rivet maintains.The F4F technology will cut direct furnace CO2 emissions by 60 percent compared to conventional furnaces.

“It is inert and always remains healthy and safe for food grade packaging no matter how many times it is recycled. By addressing our carbon emissions, we can offer a fully climate-neutral packaging solution, in addition to being fully circular.”

Large-scale production
F4F’s competitive advantage is its large-scale electric furnaces, producing 350 metric tons of glass per day. It will be ready to work with different colors of recycled glass. 

The current industry standard is roughly 80 metric tons of glass per day for electric furnaces producing flint glass.

The main commercial hurdle is the price of green electricity compared to natural gas. “This is why we applied for a grant under the EU Innovation Fund,” Rivet explains.

Theoretically, there is no limit for recycled glass incorporation in the F4F process. “However, for this demo project, we aim for 60 percent external cullet plus 10 percent internal cullet, equaling 70 percent in total,” says Rivet.Ardagh Group will build the F4F and run it in Obernkirchen, Germany. 

Making the equation green
Container glass production currently uses a mix of roughly 80 percent gas and 20 percent electricity. 

“By replacing 80 percent of the natural gas with green electricity, this hybrid technology will allow us to reduce CO2 by approximately 60 percent compared to a conventional plant, resulting in a dramatic reduction in the CO2 footprint of a glass bottle,” says Rivet.

It remains possible to replace the remaining 20 percent of natural gas via a carbon-free source, such as hydrogen, biomass or green electricity. 

“At this stage, we will only emit CO2 coming from the decomposition of the carbonates in the batch [~20 percent], for which we also need to find solutions, for example using more recycled glass.”

Operational by early 2023
Building a large-scale 350 metric tons-daily hybrid electric furnace, capable of melting reduced (=amber) glass together with high levels of recycled glass, “has no precedent,” says FEVE.

The F4F project is technically and financially supported by 19 container glass companies who have signed a binding agreement to co-fund the furnace. The ambition is to build the F4F by 2022, with first results in 2023.

“They correspond to over 90 percent of the European Container Glass Industry. There is a major interest from the whole sector,” notes Rivet.

Ardagh Group is selected to build the furnace at its Obernkirchen site in Germany and will make the application as the beneficiary, strongly supported by the industry-wide consortium. 

Each of the industry partners will co-fund the project and in return receive access to the technology and knowledge platform.

“If all goes well, the furnace will be built by the beginning of 2023 and immediately start producing bottles for the market,” Rivet concludes.

Stoelzle Glass Group revealed to PackagingInsights in a recent video interview the two central trends dominating the glass packaging scene are indeed sustainability and technological development. 

By Anni Schleicher