Japan Glass Bottle Association explores Ardagh's decarbonisation technologies

Ardagh Glass Packaging-Europe (AGP-Europe), part of Ardagh Group, has hosted representatives from the Japan Glass Bottle Association (JGBA) at two of its European plants to showcase its latest low-carbon production technologies.

In Limmared, Sweden, the delegation viewed AGP-Europe’s on-site hydrogen electrolyser. The facility generates hydrogen from renewable electricity, which is blended with natural gas in the glass furnace to lower carbon emissions during container production.

The visit continued at Obernkirchen, Germany, where the group was shown AGP-Europe’s NextGen Furnace. This commercial-scale hybrid furnace uses renewable electricity to power 42 electrodes for direct electric melting, reducing CO₂ emissions while maintaining output and quality.

Joris Goossens, R&D Project Manager, AGP-Europe, said: We were delighted to host the Japan Glass Bottle Association and share our progress in building a more sustainable future for glass packaging. These visits are essential to accelerate change and drive innovation in our industry.

Mr Iwamoto of the JGBA added: We were very impressed by Ardagh’s commitment to sustainable glass production. Seeing these innovations in Sweden and Germany gave us valuable insights into how innovative technologies can help to decarbonise our industry and will be extremely useful in supporting our own sustainability journey in Japan.

The visits provided the JGBA with an overview of how hydrogen integration and hybrid furnace technology are being applied in Europe to support the decarbonisation of glass manufacturing. Both organisations emphasised the importance of innovation and efficiency in delivering more sustainable glass packaging.