LionGlass, a new family of glass engineered by researchers at Penn State, including the inventor of Gorilla Glass, Dr John Mauro, has secured its first corporate partner, a move toward bringing the eco-friendly alternative to standard soda lime silicate glass to market.
Bormioli Luigi, an Italian glassmaker specialized in producing high-end packaging for fragrance, cosmetics and tableware, is the first company to enter an official partnership with Penn State to perform research and development with the goal of scaling up, manufacturing and ultimately commercializing LionGlass.
“This is an enormous opportunity to work with this material and create a more sustainable glass with far less carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and energy consumption than standard glass,” said Elisa Biavardi, the chemical laboratory manager for Bormioli Luigi. “I see it also as an opportunity to learn from one another as we explore the possibilities for this major innovation in glassmaking.”
The partnership will focus on scaling up LionGlass to create bottles for luxury beauty products like cosmetics and perfume. By focusing on a smaller, high-end market, the company can fine-tune the glass and determine the feasibility of scaling it up further for other uses, Biavardi explained.