A SUMMIT of industry leaders from the UK and Europe will take place today in St Helens where further details of the proposed £40m Glass Futures research centre are set to be unveiled.

Glass Futures will aim to bring researchers and industry experts together on the former United Glass site in St Helens and have the first experimental furnace of its kind in the world.

It will initially be able to produce 30 tonnes of glass a day to research and develop ways of reducing the environmental footprint of glass manufacturing.

It will also explore technologies such as waste heat recovery, low-carbon fuel sources, novel raw materials, advanced process control systems, carbon capture and storage technologies, and new glass materials.

St Helens Star:

An overhead view of the ex-United Glass site

Glass Futures will eventually develop new products and processes on an industrial scale, cutting development time and risks and other foundation industries such as concrete and steel will be invited to have neighbouring bases.

The project, which is dependent on government funding, is to create up to 50 jobs on site and another 1,000 in the supply chain.

The aim is to create the £40m research facility in St Helens, with further funding to go into research institutes along the M62 where some of the industry’s largest manufacturers have bases.

It is anticipated the site could be up and running within a year from its commissioning, with pilot furnace trials taking place from the end of 2020.

Funding is expected to come from both industry and government, with the project managed initially by Glass Technology Services.

Plans have already received a major boost from two important government grants.

St Helens Star:

A CGI view of the proposed facility from Peasley Cross Lane

A Glass Futures bid to the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is designed to build on world-class research capability in the Northern Powerhouse. The project has already received initial funding from UKRI's ‘Strength in Places’ fund to develop a further multi-million bid later this year to support this research.

If successful the larger bid will fund research across the glass industry and its supply chain, and in organisations wanting to develop innovative approaches using glass materials and components.

Meanwhile the project organisers are also working with BEIS on their ‘Industrial Fuel Switching Project’ to identify alternative low carbon energy sources.

Cllr Richard McCauley, St Helens Council’s cabinet member for economic development and housing, said: “St Helens is a place which encapsulates industry to ingenuity. We are a borough built on innovation – in glass, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing, and we can achieve such transformations again in the future.

“By combining the knowledge we have of the industry, we can be part of that innovation – and this event will demonstrate how important the Glass Futures project is to St Helens borough.”

This conference will shape the future of the glass sector, its research into clean fuels, and its manufacturing productivity for the next century.

“If you want your business to be involved, and to benefit from this world-leading centre, then please make sure you are there.”

The conference will take place at Saints' Totally Wicked Stadium on Tuesday, July 23 as glass chiefs will hear how they can influence and benefit from research and innovation to boost manufacturing productivity.