Recently, the GLASS2LIFE project was presented to the LIFE programme, the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action.
O-I Italy (coordinator of GLASS2LIFE) partnered with Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro (SSV) and K2-CO2 for this project that aims to demonstrate in a container glass manufacturing plant an innovative and energy efficient process for CO2 capture, based on the use of hot potassium carbonate (HPC) and replicable to many other hard-to-abate industries.
GLASS2LIFE should enable cost-effective sequestration of 80 percent of CO2 from furnace flue gases, is closer to market than alternatives as fuel switching or full electrification and also addresses process emissions: a strategic solution for quick decarbonisation of the glass industry to achieve EU climate neutrality by 2050.
The system will be designed, built and tested at full industrial scale in a newly built oxy-fuel furnace, where it will be operated for one year by O-I Italy.
Performance will be accurately monitored and assessed by SSV, a renowned Italian research body for the glass sector. This will allow proof of technical and economic feasibility of this first complete CCS solution for the glass industry, and to optimise the value chain of transport and storage, together with stakeholder ENI, which will operate a storage site in Ravenna from 2024.
Technology provider K2-CO2 will use outcomes to bring the system’s TRL to 8 and to prepare for a quick market introduction, also assessing opportunities in other hard-to-abate industries and verifying possible integration with future reuse solutions (CCU).
O-I will use the results to assess the potential for replication in its other plants, delivers an LCA on produced bottles and liaisons with its customers to define value propositions on low-carbon bottles from a sustainable value chain perspective. All partners will boost awareness on the new technology in target sectors and society and disseminate results amongst stakeholders to sustain the future industrial uptake.