The glass industry, like many, is moving towards a low carbon economy. It’s traditional reliance on Natural Gas means it either needs to find a cleaner fuel source or move mountains in the CCS domain. Given the lack of success to date of CCS, most companies and industries are looking to switch fuels. This session will explore some of the key concerns and facts that the glass industry should consider from an energy market perspective.
Hydrogen is clearly a popular discussion point for all industrials at the moment but who will win the race and how much will it cost given how challenging it is to produce, transport and store low carbon hydrogen at scale?
The glass industry, like many, is moving towards a low carbon economy. It’s traditional reliance on Natural Gas means it either needs to find a cleaner fuel source or move mountains in the CCS domain. Given the lack of success to date of CCS, most companies and industries are looking to switch fuels. This session will explore some of the key concerns and facts that the glass industry should consider from an energy market perspective.
Hydrogen is clearly a popular discussion point for all industrials at the moment but who will win the race and how much will it cost given how challenging it is to produce, transport and store low carbon hydrogen at scale?
Elec/NG/H2 hybrid models appear an obvious step but what’s the cost of running parallel technologies vs. what advantages are there to having both fuel sources available? Can this ultimately be carbon neutral to meet Paris accord deadlines? All electric is promising and renewables are only getting cheaper. How can businesses align their strategies with renewables whilst ensuring security of supply? How can all-electric help the grid keep the lights on in a renewable heavy grid and at the same time add new generation to cover themselves in a low carbon fashion?
And then there’s a cost comparison consideration. Historically, furnaces were built with only one fuel in mind, so energy markets were seen as something vital but out of your control. Therefore, often relegated to a single line on your opex spreadsheet despite having a much larger €/T impact than any CAPEX or efficiency consideration. In the new world though we have choice. What are the risks built into those choices and how can we help senior managers quantify that risk before investment decisions are made?
