Saint-Gobain successfully produces flat glass using 30% hydrogen

Recently, Saint-Gobain piloted the production of flat glass using a fuel with a hydrogen content of 30% during R & D tests at the Herzogenrath plant in Germany. Flames

with

different hydrogen contents demonstrated for the first time the technical feasibility of making flat glass with large amounts of hydrogen, which would complement other decarbonization energy sources and reduce direct CO2 emissions at the site by up to 70%.

This technological feat has been achieved through a research and development programme launched in 2022 in collaboration with the independent German laboratory Essen Gas and Thermal Institute (GWI), the industrial gases technical specialist.

The project has received financial support from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in the amount of 3.64 million euros.

The industrial tests at Herzogenrath were preceded by laboratory-scale trials at two research centers in France: the Saint-Gobain Paris Research Center in Aubervilliers and the Saint-Gobain Provence Research Center in Cavaillon. Analysis of

these test data will make it possible to deploy hydrogen in the Group's float glass furnaces in the coming decades, when low-carbon hydrogen is in plentiful supply. The

different hydrogen content fuel is the temperature profile of the entire furnace (source: GWI)

This breakthrough complements R & D initiatives and achievements in the electrification of glass melting, such as the world's first zero-carbon flat glass production in Aniche in May 2022. This is thanks to 100% crushed glass and 100% decarbonized energy (biogas).