​SCHOTT Trials Hydrogen Energy

Global speciality glass manufacturer SCHOTT has conducted successful trials using hydrogen for industrial-scale glass production, with plans to eventually use 100% hydrogen in future lab-scale tests.

Committed to becoming climate-neutral in production by 2030, SCHOTT is investigating two routes to achieve this goal: the electrification of furnaces based on green electricity and using green hydrogen.

As a part of the ‘H2-Industry’ research project, SCHOTT tested the use of hydrogen in large-scale melting trials at its Mainz facility in Germany. The researchers increased the hydrogen volume to 35%, and were able to achieve the extreme high temperatures required for glass melting, demonstrating the viability of this approach.

SCHOTT is now analysing the quality of the melted glass in greater depth to determine how hydrogen affects the complex melting processes and the finished product quality.

Adelphi Healthcare Packaging acts as an agent and distributor to SCHOTT Pharma, who specialise in the production of tubular glass primary packaging for pharmaceutical applications.

We are proud that, like Adelphi, our partners are environmentally conscious and have committed to reducing the impact of their businesses on our planet.

The availability of green hydrogen from renewable energies is currently limited, but if this this challenge can be overcome, its use in glass production will be a significant step towards a more sustainable future for the manufacturing industry. While there are still technological and infrastructural hurdles to overcome, this large-scale trial proves that climate-friendly technologies in energy-intensive industries can work.