Verallia to use hydrogen at German glass plant – Glass International

Verallia to use hydrogen at German glass plant – Glass International

Verallia is trialling hydrogen melting at its glass plant in Essen, Germany.

A five-year contract for gas deliveries will allow Verallia to test the long-term effects of hydrogen use in the two furnaces at its plant in Karnap, Essen.

ArcelorMittal will supply its hydrogen-rich energy gas from its Bottrop coking plant.

Uniper will provide the pipeline for gas transportation between the two industrial plants, which are approximately 3.5 km apart.

Verallia aims to operate 6MW hydrogen powered melting capacity on a daily basis, which it said was a world first for the glass industry.

Depending on the hydrogen injection rate, the Karnap plant will see its CO₂ emissions reduced by 8 to 10% per year.

Romain Barral, Vice President Operations at Verallia, said:

Our goal is to ensure that hydrogen provides a large portion of the furnaces’ energy needs for the coming years.

“To our knowledge, this is a world first for the glass industry.”

The partnership came into effect at the end of 2024, and the Karnap plant is now operating with a large portion of hydrogen.

Mr Barral continued:

We will conduct various simulations, and closely analyse all data to have the technical keys that will allow us to consider other energy conversions in the future, if this solution proves relevant.

“There are still many hurdles to overcome, particularly the availability of green hydrogen and the economic aspects of the cost of this energy.”

Before starting the project in Essen, Verallia conducted an initial test at its Zaragoza plant in Spain.

For several days, the furnaces operated with a mixture containing up to 60% hydrogen, delivered by truck.

This experiment, carried out with the support of Air Liquide, allowed Verallia’s R&D teams to characterise the implementation, equipment, safety, and monitoring issues.

In addition, it considered all elements related to combustion, performance, furnace control, and emission impacts.

READ the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Hydrogen Central

Verallia to use hydrogen at German glass plant – Glass International, source

The post Verallia to use hydrogen at German glass plant – Glass International appeared first on Hydrogen Central.