Demonstration innovative glass furnace Leerdam (OptiBoost)

Aanleiding

The glass industry is one of Europe's most energy consuming industries and is releasing large amounts of greenhouse gases (GHG) and other pollutants into the atmosphere, mainly during the glass melting process. As such, the glass industry has a major (CSR) responsibility in the energy transition to support the (inter)national environmental goals.

New greenfield emerging innovations are being developed; however, as glass making is capital-intensive with only a long-term slow growth, the number of completely new furnaces built is relatively low. Thus, to achieve sustainability goals, new retrofit innovations must be developed to overcome current technological and economical limits.

Owens-Illinois (O-I), the world's glass packaging industry leader, has two major plants in the Netherlands (Leerdam and Maastricht). She aims to reach a 25% reduction in GHG emissions with innovative strategies. The innovative Optiboost project was developed to create the most sustainable glass (beer) bottle with the industry's lowest environmental impact and smallest CO2 footprint. However, due to the innovativeness, the project has an extended ROI and increased technical risks.

Doelstelling

The goal of the project is to construct, implement and demonstrate the next generation energy-saving glass furnace design and process optimisation at the Leerdam plant in the Netherlands. This enables O-I to significantly increase the energy efficiency of their process (up to 12% less MJ/T glass for the furnace), improving the CO2 footprint (up to 15% less kgCO2/T glass from the furnace) without additional production costs within the next 2 years.

Korte omschrijving

In preparation for construction, the detail engineering will take place for the technical specifications and the final design of the Optiboost furnace.

In addition, some R&D activities will take place for the electrical boosting on this scale, and a detailed procurement plan and procedure to contract subcontractors will be set for the construction of the furnace.

Next, O-I will dismantle the current furnace in Leerdam and construct the Optiboost furnace. After construction, the furnace will be prepared for production by components and equipment testing, followed by cold and hot commissioning. Once completed and a stable process is achieved, full production will be initiated.

The project management team will coordinate and evaluate the technical and financial progress and quality of project activities, as well as mitigate risks for the duration of the project.

Resultaat

Once successful, the Optiboost furnace will demonstrate an energy saving glass melting process of 536 MJ and 35 kgCO2 per ton glass produced on site in Leerdam.

Successful demonstration in Leerdam will result in investments for the other furnaces in Leerdam or Maastricht in the Netherlands, increasing the energy saving and CO2 emission reduction impact. Within 5 years after the project, O-I expects to replace 4 furnaces in the Netherlands.

In addition, this technology can be implemented at other international O-I plants and could influence competitors to improve their furnaces using these innovative principles. The plant in Leerdam will be an excellent showcase for O-I to demonstrate the realization of their sustainability goals, leading to a better competitive position in the international market.