Assovetro, in collaboration with KPMG, has estimated that the path towards the complete decarbonisation of the Italian glass industry will require investments equal to € 15 billion by 2050. The study, presented in Rome on October 25, delves into the European regulatory context and analyses emissions, consumption and strategies to reach the target zero emissions, in a sector that in Italy employs approximately 29.000 highly specialized workers, representing the second largest glass manufacturing industry in Europe.
The President of Assovetro, Marco Ravasi, underlined how the Italian glass productions are leaders in Europe in energy efficiency and recycling. Companies in our country are already engaged in investment plans aimed at reducing emissions and are focusing their efforts on new technologies. However, Ravasi highlighted how the challenge of decarbonization requires the support of coherent and gradual policies, both at national and European level, to avoid risks of delocalization and protect the competitiveness of the sector.
Decarbonisation strategies: two possible scenarios
To achieve the goal of zero emissions, the study proposes six levers of decarbonization which consist of theenergy efficiency, in the widespread use of the scrap and decarbonized raw materials, In 'electrification, in the use of green fuels, and in the development of CCS and CCUS technologies for CO₂ capture and management. Two decarbonisation scenarios therefore emerge as main options:
- la “green fuels” strategy, which foresees the predominant use of biomethane and hydrogen, with CCS to reduce residual emissions related to the vitrification processes in the furnaces.
- La CCS strategy, where fossil natural gas remains the main energy source, supported by a CCS infrastructure for the transport, storage and reuse of CO₂, starting from 2035.
Costs and consumption of the two strategies to 2050
According to projections, the strategy based on “green fuels” would lead to a 387% increase in electricity consumption, as a result of the electrification of furnaces and the production of green hydrogen, while the CCS strategy would determine an increase of 189%. In terms of costs, by 2050, the first strategy would imply an increase of approximately 122,24 euros per tonne of glass produced, with an overall annual impact of approximately one billion euros. The CCS strategy, on the other hand, would have incremental costs estimated at 75,52 euros per tonne, equal to 620 million euros per year, but would require a complex storage and transport infrastructure and the use of fossil natural gas.
To make the decarbonisation objectives achievable and protect the competitiveness of the Italian glass industry at a global level, Assovetro has put forward several key proposals: economic incentives for investment, the purchase of zero-emission energy carriers and production change; a revision of the EU greenhouse gas emissions trading system; strengthened trade defences and a plan for the production of green energy and decarbonised energy carriers.
Source: Repubblica.it
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