SCHOTT Honored for Trials in Glass Production Using 100 Percent Hydrogen

A special pilot project was recognized by experts and politicians alike: The Mainz-based technology Group SCHOTT received the “New Gases Innovation Award” 2024 in the Application Technology category for the world’s first successful trials in industrial glass production using 100 percent hydrogen.

Under the motto “Paths to climate neutrality,” the award recognizes pioneering projects along the entire value chain for new gases that are intended to replace fossil natural gas. It is awarded by associations of the gas and hydrogen industry under the patronage of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The award ceremony, for which mpre than 100 projects were submitted, was held on Nov. 13, 2024 in Berlin.

The large-scale use of hydrogen in glass production is technologically very demanding and has not yet been attempted by any company. In tests conducted in the spring of 2024, SCHOTT tested the use of hydrogen rather than natural gas in a glass melting tank for several days during 24/7 production operations.

For technological reasons, glass melting tanks cannot simply be switched off and on again because the glass that cools down would destroy the tank.

The experts also investigated how the switch would affect the sensitive melting process and glass quality. The project team at SCHOTT was able to solve the complex technical steps and successfully melt optical glass using 100 percent hydrogen for the first time.

“This proves that it is indeed possible to switch from natural gas to hydrogen in the energy-intensive glass production process without compromising glass quality,” said project managers Dr. Lenka Deneke and Dr. Matthias Kaffenberger.

This year, the award from the German gas and hydrogen industry associations – BDEW, DVGW and Zukunft Gas – which has been presented every two years since 1980, was presented for the first time under the new name “New Gases Innovation Award.”

SCHOTT won in the “Application Technology” category and came in second in the Audience Award, for which votes could be cast on the Innovation Award website.

For SCHOTT, winning the Innovation Award once again confirms the great significance of its achievements on the road to reaching the company’s goal of climate-neutral production by 2030.

“Our experts have done a great pioneering job,” said SCHOTT CEO Dr. Frank Heinricht. “SCHOTT has made an advance investment in hydrogen. However, at the moment there is neither a viable infrastructure nor competitive prices for green hydrogen. We appeal to politicians to create better framework conditions. Until then, we will focus on our second technological path to climate-neutral glass production: the electrification of our melting tanks by using green electricity.”