LionGlass and Verallia

Verallia taps LionGlass for low-carbon glass packaging for consumer products

Verallia has entered into a research partnership with Penn State to scale up the use of LionGlass for use in consumer packaging.

“LionGlass offers a promising alternative to conventional soda lime silicate glass,” said Corinne Payen, director of glass innovation for Verallia. “It melts at temperatures much lower than traditional glass, which saves energy and eliminates the use of carbon-based raw materials, potentially halving the carbon footprint of glass manufacturing.”

LionGlass melts at temperatures up to 400°C lower than conventional glass and eliminates direct carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by removing carbonates from the glass formula. It also offers enhanced crack resistance and durability, in some cases up to ten times stronger than conventional glass.

“Worldwide, glass manufacturing produces over 86 million tons of CO₂ annually,” said John Mauro, professor and department head of materials science and engineering at Penn State and co-inventor of LionGlass. “LionGlass not only reduces emissions during production but also offers superior mechanical performance — up to 10 times more crack-resistant than standard glass — which could allow for lighter packaging and further reduce transportation-related emissions.”

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a corporate climate action organization, recently validated Verallia’s long-term Net Zero 2040 trajectory according to its Net Zero Standard. The company, which operates 35 glass production facilities across 12 countries, has committed to reducing its CO₂ emissions by 90% and offsetting the other 10%, making it the first global producer of glass packaging for food and beverages to commit to the Net Zero trajectory for 2040, Payen explained.