CelSian wins MIT Grant for R&D cooperation project on AI

Eindhoven, NL. CelSian Glass & Solar and Ignition Computing have been awarded the MIT Grant for the R&D cooperation on AI for the ‘Quality prediction and simulation optimization for glass production’ project. With a score of 94.9/100, this application project placed first out of 57 submissions in the national MIT R&D AI tender.

The MIT-R&D encourages SMEs within the top sectors in the Netherlands to develop creative initiatives. These sectors are the ones that have the potential to solve global problems and help boost the country’s economy and competitiveness.

The glass-melting process can take up to multiple days. This makes glass production difficult. Temperature and material fluctuations have implications for the final product. Product quality issues, such as bubbles in glass, may arise. This can lead to the loss of large batches of glass, totaling multiple days of production. New developments in machine learning and simulation provide more accurate predictions of glass quality.

CelSian Glass & Solar will collaborate on this research with Ignition Computing, a company that specializes in complex numerical solvers for fusion energy and multiphysics problems. The project's goal is the development of an AI-accelerated CFD application and integration with an AI-based quality prediction model for industrial glass manufacturing.

As part of the ‘Quality prediction and simulation optimization for glass production’, GTM-X and PreconNet integration, GTM-X performance optimization, integration in a quality prediction model, pilot testing, and validation are included. Additionally, the PreconNet simulation acceleration tool will be developed and adjusted.

This project will not only help strengthen the Netherlands' position as a leader in AI technology. By accelerating simulation software in the glass industry, it will also reduce product losses in an energy-intensive industry. Thereby significantly reducing costs as well as CO2, NOx, and SOx emissions into the atmosphere.

Furthermore, it contributes to the development of "Engineering and fabrication technologies" by developing digital twins for processes with the help of new machine learning technologies.

This MIT Grant will boost CelSian’s R&D capabilities, allowing us to keep pushing the envelope of what is possible, to carry out our purpose to be a partner for a future-proof glass industry, and bringing sustainability leadership to the industry.