Kimberly-Clark UK & Ireland, manufacturer of consumer brands like Andrex and Kleenex, is set to invest over £125m into building green hydrogen facilities at two of its UK production sites.
The Barrow-in-Furness site in Cumbria will tap into 100GWh of green hydrogen annually, while the Northfleet plant in Kent will benefit from 47GWh.
This will go towards the production of nearly one billion Andrex toilet rolls and over 150 million boxes of Kleenex tissues every year, replacing natural gas and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 28,500 tonnes annually.
Dan Howell, Vice-President and Managing Director at Kimberly-Clark UK & Ireland, said the projects would support the company’s ambition to move its UK 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,” he added.
The company also aims to reduce its operational greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80% in 2027 (again a 2015 baseline) and achieve a 50% reduction of absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions globally by 2030.
The investment is undertaken alongside energy partners Carlton Power and Hyro, a joint venture between Octopus Energy Generation and RES. Both projects are supported by UK government funding after being selected for the Hydrogen Production Business Model and Net Zero Hydrogen Fund.
“This government is rolling out hydrogen 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,” said the UK’s Minister for Industry, Sarah Jones.
Carlton Power’s Barrow Green Hydrogen project, approved in June 2023, will be built next to Kimberly-Clark’s site with support from Schroders Greencoat. Meanwhile, Hyro’s project at the Northfleet paper mill secured planning permission in August 2024.
Aerial view of the Barrow site ©Kimberly-Clark
The green hydrogen produced will be used to generate steam on site, directly replacing natural gas. This marks a major shift for Kimberly-Clark, as steam – a critical input in tissue production – has traditionally been generated using fossil fuels.
“Green hydrogen will play a significant role in decarbonising hard-to-electrify industries,” said Alex Brierley, co-head of Octopus Energy Generation’s fund management team. “This scheme will help produce household products using renewables.”
Keith Clarke, CEO of Carlton Power, said the Barrow facility would be “the first in a series of projects” aimed at helping UK industry transition away from fossil fuels, while Lucy Whitford, RES’ Managing Director for the UK and Ireland, called green hydrogen “a revolution” for industrial power.
The two facilities are expected to come online from 2027 and will collectively reduce Kimberly-Clark’s natural gas consumption by 50% across its UK manufacturing operations.
