Kaleigh Harrison
Key Takeaways
- Kimberly-Clark is investing $160 million to deploy green hydrogen at two major UK manufacturing sites.
- The project will replace natural gas in tissue production, cutting annual emissions by 28,500 tons.
- It marks the first large-scale green hydrogen use in the UK consumer goods sector.
- The initiative is backed by UK government funding and aligns with national decarbonization goals.
Kimberly-Clark Becomes First in Sector to Embrace Green Hydrogen at Scale
Kimberly-Clark, the company behind Andrex and Kleenex, is rolling out a $160 million investment into green hydrogen across its UK operations—marking a first for the consumer goods sector at this scale.
In partnership with Carlton Power and HYRO (a joint venture between RES and Octopus Energy Generation), the project targets two of the company’s largest UK facilities: Northfleet in Kent and Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. Combined, the sites produce around one billion toilet rolls and 150 million Kleenex boxes every year, making them central to the company’s European manufacturing footprint.
The initiative includes construction of two dedicated hydrogen production facilities—one directly on-site at Northfleet and another adjacent to the Barrow factory. Northfleet will generate 47GWh of green hydrogen annually, while the Barrow plant is expected to supply 100GWh per year. Hydrogen will be used to generate steam for tissue production, replacing natural gas in one of the most energy-intensive stages of the manufacturing process.
Decarbonization Goals Aligned with National Strategy
By 2027, Kimberly-Clark aims to cut natural gas use in its UK factories by half, compared to 2024 levels. The switch is projected to lower carbon emissions by roughly 28,500 tons a year—roughly equivalent to removing 20,000 petrol cars from the road.
The project has secured backing from the UK government through two funding schemes: the Hydrogen Production Business Model and the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund. This support reflects the broader push to scale up hydrogen in British industry, and comes as ten hydrogen projects prepare to go live across sectors from Teesside to Devon.
Dan Howell, Managing Director for the UK & Ireland, said, “Now is the right time for us to tap into hydrogen’s significant potential, improving energy supply and our decarbonisation needs. We are delighted to be the first UK consumer goods manufacturer to really embrace green hydrogen, showing that an energy intensive industry can take the lead and overcome the technical challenge and adopt green hydrogen at scale. This initiative builds on the investments and progress we’ve already made with innovative technologies for our business, our consumers and our customers.”
The shift to hydrogen is also part of Kimberly-Clark’s wider goal to run entirely on renewable energy in the UK by 2030.
