Kimberly-Clark which manufactures leading household name brands including Andrex and Kleenex has become the first major consumer products company in the UK to make a significant commitment to green hydrogen and a more sustainable future.
On 23 July, the company and its energy partners Carlton Power and HYRO (a joint venture between Octopus Energy Generation and RES), announced an investment of more than £125 million into the emerging energy solution at its two plants in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria and Northfleet, Kent. The two sites produce nearly one billion Andrex toilet rolls and over 150 million boxes of Kleenex tissues every year. Through the investment, Kimberly-Clark expects to see a 50 per cent reduction compared to its 2024 consumption of natural gas across its UK production lines from 2027.
The two long-term off-taker hydrogen supply agreements signed with energy partners Carlton Power, and HYRO will mean a green hydrogen facility is installed next to Kimberly-Clark’s Barrow plant, while a separate facility will be built on Kimberly-Clark’s Northfleet plant.
Green hydrogen, created using British low carbon energy, will revolutionise how we power industry, helping the UK to build a globally competitive, zero carbon economy in the process.
Both green hydrogen projects are being supported with funding from the UK government after being selected for the Government’s Hydrogen Production Business Model (HPBM) and Net Zero Hydrogen Fund (NZHF) – a global first (also known as Hydrogen Allocation Round One – HAR1). Carlton Power’s Barrow Green Hydrogen project secured local planning consent in June 2023. HYRO’s innovative project at the Northfleet paper mill received planning permission, after the local council granted consent for the scheme in August 2024.
The Barrow hydrogen project will supply 100GWh of hydrogen per annum while the Northfleet project will supply 47GWh per annum. Collectively the displacement of natural gas with hydrogen will reduce carbon emissions by 28,500 tonnes per annum, equivalent to removing approximately 20,000 petrol cars off the road every year*.
The projects will further decarbonise the production of toilet and facial tissues by directly replacing fossil-fuel natural gas used for steam generation. Green hydrogen – created through the electrolysis of water using electricity from renewable sources, like wind and solar – allows a versatile energy source to be generated and stored without emitting polluting gases during combustion or production.
Dan Howell, Vice President and Managing Director at Kimberly-Clark UK & Ireland, says: “This is a significant investment into a green hydrogen solution, and alongside other investments that support our ambition to move our UK manufacturing operations to 100% renewable energy by 2030.
“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.
“The initiative builds on the investments and progress we’ve already made with innovative technologies for our business, our consumers and our customers.”
Minister for Industry, Sarah Jones, says: “This government is rolling out hydrogen out at scale for the first time, with ten of the first projects now shovel-ready to start powering businesses with clean, homegrown energy from Teesside to Devon.
“Hydrogen will help us cut industrial emissions and support Britain’s industrial renewal by creating thousands of jobs in our industrial heartlands as part of the Plan for Change.”
Keith Clarke, Founder and Chief Executive of Carlton Power, says: “Kimberly-Clark’s commitment to using green hydrogen in its operations is a significant move and shows great ambition and leadership. Our development of the Barrow scheme has been forged through strong partnerships with Kimberly-Clark, our financial partner Schroders Greencoat and with DESNZ as well as with local agencies and stakeholders. Our Barrow Green Hydrogen facility will be the first in a series of projects that we will bring into commercial operation over the next 2-4 years to support UK industry make the transition to using green hydrogen and away from fossil fuels.”
Alex Brierley, co-head of Octopus Energy Generation’s fund management team, comments: “This is an exciting milestone for HYRO and for green hydrogen in the UK’s industrial sector. HYRO’s project with Kimberly-Clark at their Northfleet paper mill has progressed well, with government funding contracts in place and planning permission approved too. Green hydrogen will play a significant role in decarbonising hard-to-electrify industries – and Kimberly-Clark has been a pioneer in this space. This scheme will help produce household products using renewables and flush away fossil fuels for good.”
Lucy Whitford, RES’ Managing Director, UK & I, adds: “Green hydrogen, created using British low carbon energy, will revolutionise how we power industry, helping the UK to build a globally competitive, zero carbon economy in the process. We are proud of the success of HYRO’s Northfleet project and this latest backing for the plans by Kimberly-Clark shows how we can make green hydrogen a reality.”
The initiatives are expected to enable Kimberly-Clark UK & Ireland to achieve a total reduction of its operational greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80 per cent in 2027 (vs 2015 baseline). These improvements will also help Kimberly-Clark meet its sustainability ambitions to achieve a 50% reduction of absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions globally, from a 2015 base year by 2030.
Kimberly-Clark announced a power purchase agreement to support the opening of a new £75 million onshore wind farm in South Lanarkshire, Scotland in September 2023. Managed by Octopus Energy Generation on behalf of Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust (ORIT), RES also provides the necessary asset management services for the wind farm which has been supplying green power to Kimberly-Clark’s operations since it was commissioned.
