The Global Centre for Excellence for Glass was developed by Glass Futures to undertake research and development (R&D) projects backed by both the industry and government.
The $76.46m (£54m) plant is built as a scaled-down manufacturing facility that provides a platform for glass industry companies to work on process improvements to increase production efficiency and drive sustainability.
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Glass Futures secured planning approval from the St Helens Borough Council for the facility in May 2021. Construction work began in July 2021 and the facility was opened in June 2023.
St Helens Borough Council was given the facility for a 15-year head lease and sublet it to Glass Futures for delivering R&D government projects.
An industrial-scale 30-tonnes-per-day pilot furnace with abatement and heat recovery was installed at the facility, and its first firing took place in June 2025. The first glass from the furnace was rolled out in September 2025.
In June 2026, an AI-driven digital twin was installed at the facility to combine process optimisation with the evaluation of trial results. By combining operating data from the physical furnace with simulated inputs and established physical laws, the digital twin can perform more than 11,000 calculations simultaneously to predict glass output with high accuracy.
Location of Glass Futures’ new R&D and production facility
The Global Centre of Excellence is located at Saints Retail Park, adjacent to the Totally Wicked Stadium in St Helens Borough, Lancashire, UK.
The Saints Retail Park is a 14-acre site with direct access to the St Helens Linkway and M62 motorway.
The site previously housed a glassworks facility for UK-based company United Glass.
Facilities at Glass Futures’ Global Centre of Excellence
Glass Futures’ Global Centre of Excellence, built on a 165,000ft2 (15,329m2) area, includes a container glass production line and provision to install a float glass production line in future. It also has office, training and laboratory spaces.
The facility includes a unique experimental furnace with state-of-the-art technology for producing carbon-neutral glass. It is used to manufacture a range of products including bottles, jars, doors, windows and fibreglass.
The facility is equipped with both individual section (IS) and roll plate machines, enabling developments in container forming and flat glass production. The ISx machine supports advancements in container glass forming, while the roll plate equipment produces high‑quality samples for glass quality testing, including a 600mm‑wide ribbon with thicknesses ranging from 2mm to 8mm.
An industrial-scale kiln is designed to meet high standards of quality and efficiency while enabling the demonstration of sustainable fuel use. It has a firing chamber of 4m³ with a temperature range from ambient up to 1,500°C, suitable for firing all types of ceramics.
The kiln is fitted with four burner ports for natural gas or hydrogen and can operate with fuel blends from 0% to 100% hydrogen.
A batch plant is also part of the facility and is central to maintaining a stable melting process. It features 13 silos and eight scales with full batch recipe control and includes a gathering conveyor feeding a 500l mixer.
Pilot furnace details
The pilot furnace complements the current R&D efforts by closing the distance between technology readiness level and commercial feasibility. It is the world’s first openly accessible furnace designed to test commercially viable technology.
The multi-fuel hybrid glass furnace is constructed with fused cast AZS refractories and a low-lime silica crown.
The furnace offers access to large-scale combustion equipment including a highly instrumented 350kW combustion rig with an infrared camera. It has a nominal pull of 30 tonnes per day from a 20m² melting tank with a glass depth of 1.5m and operates in an oxy-firing configuration compatible with natural gas, hydrogen, oil and blended fuels. It is also equipped with bottom and sidewall electric boost as well as bubblers.
Additionally, the furnace is equipped with complete plant utilities and services, enabling the glass output to undergo processing through an individual section forming machine and cold-end container process coating, inspections and packaging line. It can reach temperatures of 1,600°C and produce more than two miles (3.21km) of flat glass per day.
Powered by Siemens automated control technology, the furnace uses high-definition cameras to make real-time adjustments to maximise energy efficiency and glass quality. Siemens’ latest distributed control system, the web-based SIMATIC PCS Neo, is implemented across the entire plant.
In February 2026, trial runs using biofuels and electric melting were completed for the furnace, alongside commissioning hydrogen-firing capabilities.
Research focus at the Global Centre of Excellence
The research work at the Global Centre of Excellence focuses on identifying and exploring alternative raw materials, advanced process control systems, new glass materials, and other technologies including waste heat recovery, low-carbon fuel sources, and carbon capture and storage.
It aims to cut carbon and other emissions from glass production by more than 80%.
The facility plans to eventually transition to the industrial-scale development of new products and processes that reduce production time as well as risk for future glassmakers.
Financing for the new facility
The project is backed by funding from the UK Government, Glass Futures, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and St Helens Borough Council. The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority offered £9m in funding for the project in July 2020, while St Helens Borough Council invested £900,000.
UK Research and Innovation, a national funding agency of the UK Government, supported the project with funding of £15m under the Transforming Foundation Industry (TFI) programme. TFI is an initiative aimed at supporting energy-intensive foundation businesses such as glass, concrete and steel in sharing expertise, as well as exploring new technologies and innovations that will reduce carbon emissions.
To obtain forward funding, Network Space Development presold the building to global investor Standard Life Investments Property Income Trust in 2022.
The remaining investment was sourced from the glass industry.
Contractors involved in the Glass Futures project
UK-based commercial real estate development investment and management group Network Space, which owns the St Helens site, delivered the project. The company prepared and submitted the planning application for the project on behalf of Glass Futures.
AEW Architects was awarded a contract to design the facility, while Bowmer + Kirkland, a construction and development company based in the UK, was selected in December 2021 to build the glass manufacturing facility.
Parkinson-Spencer Refractories was involved in designing flexible and innovative forehearths for the facility, while EME installed a batch plant.
The ISx machine was developed by T&T Turnov, while the roll plate equipment was supplied by Fickert & Winterling.
Other contractors involved in the project are Hoare Lea, Tetra Tech and IMT Consultancy.
Project background and benefits
In 2018, the Glass Futures project consortium, comprising British Glass, Pilkington Glass, and the Universities of Liverpool and Leeds, selected St Helens as one of two locations in the UK to host a new research facility equipped with a large experimental glass furnace.
The selected location for the second centre of excellence was the new research and innovation campus at the University of Leeds in West Yorkshire.
The consortium also includes Guardian Glass, the Glass Technology Institute, Swarovski, Siemens and certain other glass manufacturing companies and universities.
In February 2019, representatives from both the industry and academia discussed the final design and operating model of the Glass Futures project in St Helens, before entering talks with the government.
The project contributes to efficient, low-carbon glass production across the industry. It also aims to put the UK at the forefront of glass innovation and eco-friendly production.
AMETEK Land became a member of Glass Futures, the Global Centre of Excellence, in April 2022 to promote innovation in the production of lower-carbon glass products and processes. Ryze Hydrogen collaborated with Glass Futures to help decarbonise the glass industry by exploring the role of hydrogen in it.
During the construction phase, a total of 441 workers and subcontractors were appointed for the project, including 30 apprentices and some labour from St Helens, Wigan and Warrington communities.
