Cardinal Glass Industries has committed to the world’s first carbon capture installation at the company’s Cardinal FG float glass facility in Winlock, Washington. Cardinal has issued purchase orders and paid deposits for critical and long-lead project items. System operations are planned for the first quarter of 2029.
“Cardinal has always approached environmental performance as an engineering discipline, not simply as an aspiration,” said Kelly Busch, President of Cardinal FG. “With the feasibility, design and engineering phases now complete, we are moving toward installation of this carbon capture system at our Winlock facility. This is an important milestone for Cardinal, for our customers, and for the future of lower-carbon float glass manufacturing worldwide.”
The project follows Cardinal’s feasibility, design and engineering work with K2-CO2 of Padova, Italy. The system is expected to capture approximately 130,000 metric tons of CO₂ per year and is designed to remove up to 95% of CO₂ from targeted float glass manufacturing process streams.
Float glass manufacturing requires continuous, high-temperature furnace operations. The process produces CO₂ from the energy used to melt glass and from glassmaking raw materials. The Winlock system is being developed to address both sources within targeted process streams.
Cardinal is working with K2-CO2 to integrate the capture system into the operating float glass facility. Cardinal and K2-CO2 will use the controls and measurement instruments needed to monitor system performance. The project is not currently receiving government funding.
Cardinal is exploring potential future markets for the captured CO₂.
Cardinal and K2-CO2 have also patented a system that enables the use of additional gases from the resulting flue gas. The work adapts carbon capture technology to the technical requirements of float glass production.
“This program builds on years of work between Cardinal and K2-CO2 to evaluate, engineer and adapt carbon capture technology for float glass manufacturing,” said Alessandro Monteforte, CEO of K2-CO2. “The Winlock installation will be an important demonstration of how carbon capture can be integrated into one of the most demanding industrial manufacturing environments.”
Cardinal has invested in emissions control, process efficiency and high-performance glass technologies across its float glass operations. The company has achieved minor-source status for regulated emissions across much of its float glass network.
Once the system is operating and its performance has been demonstrated, the expected reduction in embodied carbon in Cardinal glass can help customers offer products that support architects pursuing lower-embodied-carbon project requirements.
“This is not a one-time announcement; it is part of a broader roadmap,” said Bowie Neumayer, President of Cardinal Glass Industries. “The Winlock project gives us a defined first installation, a concrete operations target and the opportunity to generate the performance data needed to evaluate future deployment across additional float glass lines.”
Winlock is Cardinal’s first installation of this technology. Cardinal hopes to use what it learns there to support future deployment at other Cardinal float glass facilities.
System operations at Winlock are planned for Q1 2029. Cardinal expects to provide updates as installation, commissioning and validation milestones are reached.
About Cardinal Glass Industries
Cardinal Glass Industries manufactures glass products for windows and doors, including float glass, coated glass, insulating glass, laminated glass and smart privacy glass. Through Cardinal FG, the company produces float glass used in glazing systems across North America. Cardinal’s products include LoĒ™ energy-efficient coated glass.
About K2-CO2
K2-CO2, based in Padova, Italy, develops carbon capture systems for industrial applications. The company works with manufacturers to integrate CO₂ capture into high-volume production environments, including float glass manufacturing.
