Schott achieves 100% hydrogen-powered glass production in lab

German glass manufacturer Schott has announced it has conducted successful laboratory tests to produce glass using 100% hydrogen in the melting process instead of natural gas.

Schott has been testing glass melting with hydrogen since 2018 as the company aims to become climate neutral in its production by the end of the current decade. In this undertaking, glass melting tanks need to be heated to up to 1,700 degrees Celsius and the temperature must be maintained permanently during the melting process. The company is testing whether hydrogen can do this constantly and what is the effect on the quality of the glass products.

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The latest laboratory tests were carried out under conditions that were much closer to production than the preliminary tests conducted in 2020.

“For the first time, we succeeded in completely using hydrogen for a holding time of 10 days on a laboratory scale. This success represents an important milestone for the technology Group to be able to perform corresponding tests in production reality and the results in large-scale technology in the future,” commented Schott's melting technology manager Matthias Kaffenberger.