Ardagh Glass Packaging-Europe (AGP-Europe), an operating business of Ardagh Group, announced that it is now producing green H₂ for glass melting via a H₂ electrolyzer at its facility in Limmared, Sweden. The 5-MW proton exchange membrane (PEM) H₂ electrolyzer uses renewable electricity to split water into H₂ and oxygen, supplying H₂ to the energy mix in the furnace. Since testing of the electrolyzer began in October, the furnace has successfully combusted 109,000 m³ of H₂ produced onsite, saving 70 tons of CO₂.

Daniel Johansson, Project Manager, AGP-Europe explained, “The testing phase using the H₂ energy mix is progressing well, with no impact on the quality of the glass or the furnace. Our target is to replace 20% of the natural gas in the furnace with green H₂, which will reduce carbon emissions from our glass packaging produced in Limmared.”

This partly H₂-fired glass furnace follows the launch of AGP’s flagship NextGen Furnace in Obernkirchen, Germany, where 60% electrical heating has already been achieved, delivering a 64% reduction in carbon emissions.

AGP-Europe CEO Martin Petersson added, “Replacing a proportion of the natural gas with green H₂ in the furnace represents a step change in the way we sustainably produce glass packaging. The future combination of H₂ and other sustainable technologies such as hybrid melting, will help Ardagh Group and our customers to achieve their emissions reduction targets, as well as advancing the decarbonization of the glass industry.”