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 (SSV) 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 SSV, an Italian research body for the glass sector.

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.

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.