Toyo Glass will install a manufacturing furnace to be powered by an on-site hydrogen facility as part of a research project.
The Japanese glass manufacturer has been selected to participate in a hydrogen study which will focus on the development of new technologies for industrial use.
Toyo Glass was chosen by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) to participate in its 2024 Regional Hydrogen Utilization Technology Development project.
Toyo’s proposal was for the development of a glass melting furnace equipped with an on-site hydrogen supply facility.
Glass melting furnaces typically rely on large amounts of fossil fuels, but achieving a decarbonised society will ultimately require a transition to non-fossil fuels, such as hydrogen.
To facilitate a transition to using hydrogen as a fuel, it is first necessary to establish a hydrogen supply system.
Toyo Glass therefore seeks to contribute to the utilisation of hydrogen energy in the region by creating an on-site hydrogen supply facility.
If the glass melting furnaces owned by Toyo Glass were converted to hydrogen, over 6,000 large hydrogen trailers would be needed annually for each furnace.
However, obtaining such a large amount of hydrogen from external sources would pose challenges, such as constructing multiple large storage tanks on factory premises and the consequent requirements for stringent safety management of high-pressure and liquefied hydrogen.
Water electrolysis involves passing an electric current through water (H2O) to separate it into oxygen (O2) and hydrogen (H2).
Constructing an on-site hydrogen supply facility that uses electrolysis would make it possible to produce hydrogen according to demand using existing water and electricity sources, eliminating the need for large storage facilities.
Additionally, as a glass melting furnace requires only the pressure necessary for combustion, there is no need to compress or liquefy hydrogen, making it easier to introduce.
Furthermore, if the electricity needed for electrolysis is supplied from local renewable energy generation facilities, this could lead to the development of a regionally self-sufficient hydrogen energy utilisation system.
In this project, a bench-scale model of the facility will be created, and technology will be developed toward its future implementation in glass melting furnaces.
This is Toyo Glass’s second NEDO project related to hydrogen utilisation, following its Research and Development of the Utilization of an Oxygen–Hydrogen Combustion Flame as the Heat Source for Soda-Lime Glass Melting proposal, which was selected in June 2023.
