GIFFT Consortium Advances Sustainable Hybrid Heat Technology for Glass Manufacturing

The third consortium meeting of the Horizon Europe-funded GIFFT project took place at Chalmers University of Technology on 4^th and 5^th March, bringing together leading experts and partners to discuss progress and strategies for developing sustainable, hybrid, and biofuel-flexible heat production technologies for industrial glass manufacturing.

Europe remains the global leader in glass production, an industry characterized by high energy consumption and significant CO2 emissions. The GIFFT project seeks to address these challenges by developing an integrated heat production technology utilizing biomass, waste, and excess or low-cost renewable electricity. By implementing plasma-assisted combustion and gasification systems, the project aims to increase circularity, reduce emissions, and improve the economic viability of bioenergy in industrial settings.

During this two-day meeting, key project partners will review the progress of various project activities, focusing on:

• Concept development and hybrid combustion system testing
• Gasification and raw gas cleaning
• Biomass gasification ash handling
• Validation of enabling technologies
• Techno-economic and environmental assessments

A key highlight of the meeting is the laboratory facilities tour, where consortium members explored experimental setups related to plasma-assisted gasification and hybrid combustion technologies. Additionally, Dr. Wolfgang Schmidbauer presented on the economic potential of a flexible fuel burner for hybrid glass furnaces, a critical component of the GIFFT project’s innovation roadmap.

Breakout sessions allowed experts to discuss plasma-assisted burner design, experimental methodologies, and process modeling, ensuring seamless collaboration between partners as they advance towards industrial validation of the technology.

GIFFT’s Vision for Sustainable Glass Manufacturing
By integrating fuel-flexible entrained flow gasifiers (EFG) with novel plasma-assisted fuel-flexible burners, the GIFFT project aims to enhance feedstock diversification and technological performance. The outcome will be a cost-effective and sustainable solution for the glass industry, reinforcing Europe’s leadership in bioenergy integration into industrial processes.

Coordinator contact:

Dr. Nerijus Striūgas, Chief of Laboratory of Combustion Processes, E-Mail: Nerijus.Striugas@lei.lt

Tel: +370 37 401877

Note: This project has received funding from the Horizon Europe program under grant agreement No101122257.