A ‘Glass Centre of Excellence’ will be created at O-I Glass in Perrysburg, US, to develop new technologies for manufacturing glass.

The Northwest Ohio Innovation Consortium (NOIC) revealed that it has received a $31.3 million grant from the Ohio Department of Development’s Innovation Hubs programme to establish a Northwest Ohio Glass Innovation Hub.

NOIC partners include O-I, Owens Corning, Libbey Glass, Pilkington North America, and First Solar.

The project aims to develop sustainable manufacturing processes that result in lighter, stronger glass.

The hub is expected to create 1,600 jobs and a $284 million economic impact over the next five years.

It is also expected to produce over 200 new graduates working in science, technology, engineering and maths fields to meet surging workforce demands.

The state funds will be matched by $10.4 million in cost-sharing funds from private sector industry, public sector universities, federal grants, economic development organisations, and community foundations.

Over the next seven years, NOIC expects to deliver commercialised results in the following areas to improve the glass industry:

• Create a Glass Centre of Excellence in Northwest Ohio.

• Commercialise alternative fuels and necessary infrastructure improvements.

• Improve furnace efficiency and longevity.

• Improve energy optimisation and consistency using artificial intelligence and machine learning.

• Strength and weight improvements to glass products.

• Improve the available glass recycling stream through improved processing.

• Industry Talent Development – focused on high school through PhD, keeping students interested in STEM and providing opportunities for paid internships leading to employment.