Italian glassmaker Bormioli Luigi has set itself the target of reducing its CO2 emissions by 50 % by 2030. To achieve this, the company is investing in the Vitrum project, supported by the European Commission as part of the Innovation Fund, a funding scheme designed to promote innovative industrial technologies that contribute to decarbonization.
The Vitrum project (for Virtuous Innovative TRansformation of highqUality container glass Manufacturingan innovative and virtuous transformation in the manufacture of high-quality glass packaging) involves the deployment of a hybrid furnace fuelled by a mix of methane and electricity, combined with advanced PCR, digitized control systems and artificial intelligence-assisted process optimization.
A significant reduction in carbon footprint is expected. The hybridization process alone will generate 80 %. The use of recycled glass combined with an optimized channel management system will contribute the remainder. The savings will be around 30 % in gas consumption and 14 % in CO2 compared with a conventional gas furnace.
With this innovation, Bormioli Luigi anticipates a reduction of 25,500 tonnes of CO2 equivalent over the first ten years of operation. Located at its Abbiategrasso site, near Milan, the furnace will be commissioned by January 2025.
2024 has been a productive year for Bormioli Luigi. Well ahead of the game in electric fusion (60 % of production in the Beauty division), the group is multiplying projects focused on reducing its carbon footprint, and thus anticipating the regulatory framework. The Vitrum project has been validated and co-financed by the European Commission's Innovation Fund, and is the only Italian project to benefit from such support. According to the company, only 15 % of glass packaging plants in Europe use electric melting.
Photo: © Still Life_2020
