As a pioneer in climate-friendly glass production using hydrogen as an energy source, the SCHOTT Group has achieved another important success: The company was able to produce a test melt with 100 percent hydrogen in the laboratory without using natural gas. The specialty glass experts from Mainz, Germany, had already started the first industrial-scale tests with the participation of local partners late in 2022. In these tests, 35 percent hydrogen was added to a melting tank that had previously been operated exclusively with natural gas. The results showed that a change in melting technology away from using fossil fuels is indeed possible. This was confirmed with the new 100 percent hydrogen trial.
“The current laboratory tests were conducted under conditions that were much closer to production than in 2020 when we conducted preliminary tests in a research project. Thanks to the expanded hydrogen supply at the plant in Mainz in the meantime, we were now able to melt and test for a significantly longer period of time,” explained Dr. Matthias Kaffenberger, Melting Technology Manager at SCHOTT, in describing the most recent progress. “For the first time, we succeeded in completely using hydrogen for a holding time of 10 days on a laboratory scale. This success represents an important milestone for the technology Group to be able to perform corresponding tests in production reality and the results in large-scale technology in the future.”