Vidrala, Diageo create world first Net Zero glass bottles

Spain/United Kingdom

Encirc, a Vidrala company, is a glass manufacturer and co-packer, and Diageo, global company in premium alcoholic drinks, announced their partnership to create the world’s first net zero glass bottles at scale by 2030.

Encirc plans to build a new furnace at its Elton plant, Cheshire, which will change the face of glass. The furnace will reduce carbon emissions by 90%, with an energy mix of green electricity and low carbon hydrogen. It is expected that carbon capture technology will capture the remaining carbon emissions by 2030.

In addition, the furnace will be powered by zero carbon electricity and hydrogen, from the Vertex (HyNet)plant in Cheshire and be fully operational by 2027. It will produce up to 200 million Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, Gordon’s and Tanqueray bottles annually by 2030.

Encirc is already a well-known name in sustainable glass production and future-proofing the future of glass. In 2021, the company, in collaboration with glass industry partners Glass Futures, trialled one of its furnaces in its Northern Ireland plant on sustainable biofuels on many brands including Diageo’s Black & White bottles, using 100% recycled glass to create the most sustainable bottles ever produced. The bottles had a carbon footprint of up to 90% lower than a standard glass bottle.

The hydrogen used to power the new furnace will come from Vertex Hydrogen, a partner of the government-backed HyNet North West cluster, the UK’s leading industrial decarbonisation project.

Glass Futures, based in St Helens, is also playing a key role in supporting the glass industry’s decarbonisation and is a key partner for Encirc. It will be instrumental in trialling sustainable fuels on furnaces and developing the future furnace technology required to support Encirc and the wider glass industry in its goals.