The complicated geopolitical situation and the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda are calling for a change of course for production processes, in summary they demand the well-known energy transition.
The great protagonist of this transition appears today thehydrogen, especially that Verde, that is, deriving from renewable sources.
Hydrogen is an extraordinary energy carrier; compared to conventional fuels, it is in fact the one with the highest energy content per unit of weight.
These reflections led to the experimentation of glass production through supplies of green hydrogen to power the Murano furnaces.
Between tradition and technology
The memorandum of understanding has already been signed; therefore begins the experimental phase of a project that combines the Italian glass tradition with the most innovative technologies called for the energy transition.
The manufacture of glass is in fact an energy-intensive activity, today subjected to unsustainable production costs and pressured by the process of decarbonization.
Experimentation is underway
Specifically, variable mixtures of hydrogen and methane gas will feed a test melting furnace located near the Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro, to verify if green hydrogen combustion could be the answer to the needs of the artistic furnaces of Murano.
Realities involved and objectives
The study involves the Glass Section of Confindustria Venezia, la Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro and Hydrogen Park, a company that has built a green hydrogen production, storage and distribution plant in the Porto Marghera area.
This study will therefore make it possible to evaluate the feasibility of a technological and energy transition within the Murano furnaces to restore a climate of confidence within the sector.
Furthermore, the success of the tests could represent a revolution for the entire glass supply chain, a real excellence in the national secondary sector.
A team game
The memorandum of understanding therefore favors the enhancement of the artistic capacity of Venice, combining the European energy strategy both with the know-how of the Hydrogen Consortium and with the specificity of the production processes and the tradition of Murano kilns.
Only the continuation of this joint effort between productive realities, local institutions and research centers will be able to ferry the Murano glassworks towards a fully sustainable future.
Sources: metropolitano.it, enelgreenpower.com
