K2-CO2 partners with O-I Glass Italy for carbon capture project

O-I Italy has partnered with K2-CO2 and Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro for a carbon capture project.

Glass2Life is a full-scale exploration of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in glass manufacturing to limit CO₂ emissions.

The project is in collaboration with O-I Italy and Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro, an international research centre.

It will begin in January 2025 and aims to be completed by June 2028.

It has a total budget of €11.2 million and has an European Union (EU) Contribution of €6.7 million.

The project was recently accepted into the EU’s LIFE Programme 2023, which is dedicated to the environment, nature conservation and climate action.

K2-CO2 has emerged as the Italian company with the highest contribution in this session of the programme.

Alessandro Monteforte, K2-CO2 CEO, said: “We are extremely pleased with this recognition, which represents a significant step in our growth, but above all the concretization of O-I Italy's commitment to sustainable production.

“[The project is] achievable without changes to the melting process, and the quality of glass that's made O-I’s name great in the world.”

The project aims to demonstrate an energy efficient process for CO₂ capture in a container glass manufacturing plant, based on the use of hot potassium carbonate (HPC).

This will enable a cost-effective sequestration of 80% of CO₂ from furnace flue gases.

The system will be designed, built and tested at full industrial scale in a newly-built oxy-fuel furnace, where it will be operated for one year by O-I Italy.

Performance will be monitored and assessed by SSV, an Italian research body for the glass sector.

The project aims to prove the technical and economic feasibility of this CCS solution for the glass industry.

Stakeholder ENI will operate a storage site in Ravenna, Italy, from 2024.

K2-CO2 will use the outcome to bring the system’s technology readiness level (TRL) to 8* and to prepare for a quick market introduction.

O-I will use the results to assess the potential for replication in its other plants.

*Actual technology completed and qualified through test and demonstration.