Orora secure grant to support construction of oxygen glass furnace

Orora has announced its successful grant application to support the planned construction of an oxygen fuelled furnace at the Orora Glass manufacturing plant in Gawler, South Australia.

The AUS 12.5 million grant was awarded from the federal government under the Modern Manufacturing Initiative – Manufacturing Translation Stream, Recycling and Clean Energy programme, to accelerate development and commercialisation of low emissions technologies.

Orora Beverage Group General Manager, Simon Bromell, said, “Orora is very appreciative of the government’s support for this significant project.

“Our plan to introduce oxygen fuelled furnace technology to our site in Gawler, which would be a first for Australia, supports Orora’s ongoing commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This grant is an important step in achieving that plan, which we intend to progress through to 2024.

“The project would also assist Orora to meet the growing demand from consumers for recycled and sustainable packaging and support our wine industry customers to be competitive in their export markets.”

Globally, Orora Group has committed to achieve net zero Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (indirect emissions from purchased energy) greenhouse gas emissions across its operations by 2050. Orora also has an interim goal of a 40 percent reduction from 2019 levels by 2035, and a target of 60 percent recycled content for glass bottles by 2025.

The oxygen fuelled furnace, which would replace existing furnace technology, would contribute to this goal together with the construction of a AUS 25 million glass beneficiation plant at Gawler, which is expected to be commissioned in Q4 FY22.