Ardagh Group and Absolut Vodka co-invest in hydrogen-fired glass furnace in a global industry first

LUXEMBOURG, Nov. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ardagh Group S.A. and Absolut Vodka's latest collaboration will enable the global spirits brand to become the first to move to a partly hydrogen energy-fired glass furnace for large-scale production, in a significant step to reduce the CO2 emissions from making its iconic bottles. The hydrogen initiative is an important milestone for Absolut Vodka in becoming completely CO2 neutral by 2030. A prerequisite for being able to meet this goal is in reducing the carbon footprint of its glass packaging.

Ardagh Glass Packaging in Limmared, a subsidiary of Ardagh Group, has signed an agreement with Absolut Vodka, to use this partly hydrogen-fired furnace commencing in the second half of 2023. The pioneering collaboration will accelerate the transformation of the global glassmaking process for a more sustainable future.

Ardagh's Limmared glass production facility in Sweden has been a partner with Absolut for 40 years and currently uses a combination of natural gas and electricity to power its furnaces. From the second half of 2023, Ardagh will launch a pilot in Limmared replacing 20% of its natural gas with green hydrogen to manufacture all of Absolut's bottles across its portfolio. This means a full-scale change of the continuous production of Absolut bottles for all markets globally. The hydrogen will be produced onsite at Ardagh by using renewably sourced electricity.

An industry-wide quest for reducing climate impact is taking place. Combined with other innovations and sustainability initiatives, new technologies such as hydrogen-fired furnaces will reduce carbon emissions from glass production significantly.