Container glass manufacturing is an energy intensive process where at this moment fossil fuel is the main source of energy. The industry in Europe is regulated by the EU-ETS scheme since 2008, just recently in 2021 the CO₂ benchmark values were reduced again to 309 kg/t packed glass for colourless articles and to 237 kg/t packed for coloured glasses.

As for all industries also the container glass industry needs to bridge a significant gap before the EU 2050 target of net zero carbon emissions is achieved. This will only be possible by some technological breakthroughs that are currently under development. Such new technologies will not be applicable at all locations at once. So, there is also a need for additional CO₂ reduction even though this may not directly lead to carbon neutrality.

This presentation therefore focusses on alternative, non-breakthrough technologies that reduce the carbon footprint of container glass making.

Topics of the presentations are alternative raw materials, the increased use of cullet and the application of various process integrated waste heat recovery techniques.

Based on practical examples and calculations chances and risks are analysed and discussed.