Commissioning expected date
Hybrid electric and fossil-fuel fired regenerative furnace - IDENTIFIED BY INCITE
First of a kind (FOAK) demonstration of a new hybrid
regenerative furnace that combines the energy
efficiency of all-electric furnaces with the
operational flexibility of conventional regenerative
furnaces.
The BEAR (Batch-fed Engineered Air-fuel Resource) Hybrid Regenerative Glass Furnace project is an initiative aimed at improving the energy efficiency and reducing the carbon footprint of glass manufacturing. This innovative project was conceived to address the high energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with traditional glass furnaces.
Traditional glass furnaces are typically energy-intensive because they operate at high temperatures, around 1500 to 1700 degrees Celsius, to melt raw materials into glass. They can be fueled by natural gas, oil, or electricity, and are a significant source of CO2 emissions due to the combustion of fossil fuels.
The BEAR Hybrid Regenerative Glass Furnace introduces several key advancements:
1. Regenerative Heating: This involves using a pair of heat exchangers (regenerators) that alternate between heating incoming combustion air with the hot exhaust gases, thereby capturing and reusing heat that would otherwise be lost. This improves thermal efficiency.
2. Hybrid Combustion: The system may use a combination of fuel types, such as natural gas and electricity, to optimize the energy mix and potentially integrate renewable energy sources.
3. Advanced Controls: By implementing state-of-the-art control systems, the furnace can maintain optimal combustion conditions, reducing fuel consumption and emissions.
4. Improved Insulation: Enhanced insulation materials and design can further reduce heat loss and improve the furnace's overall energy efficiency.
Link to the technique (Basic Information)
https://www.sbra.be/sites/default/files/steklarna_hrastnik_-_bear_project_fiche.pdf
Participant Companies
Project partners
Steklarna Hrastnik d.o.o.
Technology provider
Nicolas Sorg GmbH
-
Under construction
Technology readiness level (TRL) 7
System prototype demonstration in operational environment
- Date of development of the technique
-
1 September 20221 April 2025
- Environmental purpose of the innovative technique
- Decarbonisation
- Energy efficiency
- Relevant industrial sector
- Glass
- IED activity
- 3.3 Manufacture of glass including glass fibre with a melting capacity exceeding 20 tonnes per day
Locations
Environmental performance
Percentage reduction of GHG emissions:
33.0Avg
%
GHG emissions data
10,000.0Total GHG emission (CO2_eq ton/year)
Avg
reduction of natural gas demand Energy consumption reduction (%):
50.0Avg
%
Project
Hybrid regenerative glass furnace
The BEAR project will demonstrate a first-of-a-kind hybrid end-fired regenerative furnace with a more than 40% electrical melting share and throughput capacity of 170 tons of glass per day. The furnace will be implemented in Steklarna Hrastnik’s (SH) existing production site in Hrastnik, Slovenia. The hybrid furnace will replace the existing end-fired regenerative furnace for extra-white flint glass production, thereby resulting in a more than 50% reduction of natural gas consumption and up to 33% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions avoid- ance over the first ten years of operation.
- Project partners
- Steklarna Hrastnik d.o.o.
- Technology provider
- Nicolas Sorg GmbH