Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro is a national research institute founded in 1954. It is the only Italian official body devoted to support the national glass industry and to provide technical consultancies on a variety of topics such as raw materials, refractories, furnaces, environmental improvements and industrial automation.
These activities are carried out by more than 50 employees in industrial sites and laboratories dedicated to the characterization of physical, chemical, optical, mechanical and thermo-physical properties of glass and related materials. SSV labs are equipped with cutting-edge technologies and are accredited by ACCREDIA-ILAC-MRA in compliance with UNI CEI EN ISO/IEC 17025. SSV is also authorized to act as a glass testing lab for the application of EU Regulation n.305/2011 on architectural glazing and EU Directive 89/106 on construction materials.
SSV takes part in the work of national (UNI) and international (CEN-ISO) Organizations for Standardization, and in several technical committees of the International Commission on Glass. It has published over 670 articles on international magazines and holds 6 patents.
In LIFE SUGAR, as in previous projects, SSV will provide expertise and analytical support for on-site sampling and measurement campaigns on flue gases via the Multipoint Continuous Monitoring method, combustion optimization audits, endoscopic inspections, energy balance assessments and LCA evaluations, among others.
In the last decade, SSV has worked with SG, UNIGE and SGRPRO in several projects (i.e. LIFE Prime Glass, LIFE WBRM and LIFE VALIRE) dealing with innovative technological solutions to improve energy efficiency and reduce pollutant emissions of glass furnaces. In these projects, CFD simulations, equipment construction, installation, testing, and experimental characterizations were crucial for the demonstration of the performances of the new technologies, most of which have now reached full scale commercial maturity and success (i.e. Hybrid Air Staging).