Pilkington Runs Furnace on Hydrogen in Five-Day Trial

Published 25th October, 2021 by Jess Mills

The event was the latest demonstration in the DGA Roadshow

Pilkington UK used a blend of hydrogen and natural gas to run its Greengate furnace in St Helens during a five-day trial.

The trial found that a full furnace could be run safely on the hydrogen blend, without comprising quality or performance. Each day of the event, two tonnes of hydrogen were consumed – enough to provide an equivalent hydrogen blend for approx. 30,000 average-sized homes.

The event marked the latest demonstration of a UK-wide roadshow led by the Decarbonised Glass Alliance (DGA). Launched earlier this month, the national tour will run until 27^th October, ending the weekend before the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow.

The tour has illustrated the role hydrogen has to play in assisting the UK’s target of zero net carbon emissions by 2050.

In August, Pilkington achieved a global first by using 100% of hydrogen in part of its furnace. It’s now working with HyNet and HyDeploy to assist in the former’s goals of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 10 million tonnes every year by 2030 and creating over 6,000 jobs in the North West of England.

Jess Mills

Glass International Deputy Editor

Jess is the Deputy Editor of Glass International magazine. She has been training in creative and professional writing since 2017, earning her degree in 2020. Prior to joining Quartz Business Media, Jess worked as a freelance writer for a variety of companies and publications.