Packaging giant Ardagh Group and spirit brand Absolut Vodka have partnered to develop a hydrogen energy-fired glass furnace, which is set to commence operations in the second half of 2023.
The collaboration will offer a more sustainable process for glass-making and reduce carbon emissions from the sector, Ardagh noted in a statement.
The hydrogen will be produced by Ardagh using renewably sourced electricity.
The move forms part of Absolut’s plans to decrease its carbon footprint from glass packaging by 20%, which is part of its goal of becoming CO2 neutral by 2030.
Ardagh’s Limmared glass production facility, in Sweden, currently uses a combination of natural gas and electricity, and through this project it will replace 20% of its natural gas with green hydrogen, to manufacture Absolut’s packaging.
The group noted a number of other initiatives that are also significant to reducing carbon emissions, such as the light-weighting of glass and the increased use of electricity and recycled flint glass.
“Our industry needs to be less reliant on fossil fuels and transition at pace to using more green energy,” commented Bo Nilsson, managing director at Ardagh Glass Limmared AB. “By investing in this new technology, we are embarking on a journey to reduce the carbon footprint of our glass packaging. There are challenges with such innovation, but we are committed to being an early mover in future-proofing our glass manufacturing operations worldwide.”
“Given we’ve been investing in our own production for decades, decreasing our emissions and increasing energy efficiency, we’re now in a position where we also can focus on the parts of our value chain that are outside of our own scope,” added Stéphanie Durroux, Absolut Vodka’s chief executive.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest packaging news. Article by Amanda Merchán. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
