Already a leader in electric fusion, which represents 60% of the production of its Beauty division, the Bormioli Luigi group is accelerating its initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint with the commissioning of a new hybrid furnace at its Abbiategrasso site in Italy.
The furnace will be powered by a combination of methane and electricity. Its design and energy efficiency, associated with the use of PCR glass, will lead to a significant reduction of the carbon footprint.
Dubbed Vitrum, the project is co-funded by the European Commission within the framework of its Innovation Fund; it is the only Italian project to benefit from such support [1].
The hybridization process alone generates most of the savings.The use of recycled glass, associated with an optimized piping system, contribute the remainder. Finally, the new process allows for savings of approximately 30% in gas consumption and 14% in CO2 emissions compared to a traditional gas furnace.
Thanks to this innovation, Bormioli Luigi anticipates a reduction of the equivalent of 25,500 tons of CO2 during the furnace’s first 10 years in service. It is part of the group’s decarbonization roadmap, which involves a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030.
The new technology also benefits from the digitalization of its control systems and from a process optimization assisted by artificial intelligence.
