Paper Giant Aims for Green H2: Kimberly-Clark Teams on $167M Hydrogen Supply Deal in UK
American multinational consumer goods industrial firm Kimberly-Clark Corp. is part of a partnership investing $167 million in procuring green hydrogen to provide combined heat and power for two of its paper plants in the United Kingdom.
The two long-term green hydrogen offtake agreements include partnerships with Carlton Power and HYRO, which is a hydrogen joint venture between Octopus Energy Generation and RES. Kimberly-Clark UK and Ireland is contracting for the green hydrogen for its Andex and Kleenex plants in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, and Northfleet, Kent.
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Kimberly-Clark, one of the world's largest paper good producers, hopes to see a 50% reduction in natural gas consumption across its UK production lines by 2027. Hydrogen does not contain carbon in its chain so does not emit CO2 at the point of use.
To be classified green hydrogen, however, it must be generated from electrolyzers–which separate the two hydrogen molecules from water–and powered by carbon-free resources such as solar, wind, nuclear and hydro.
“Now is the right time for us to tap into hydrogen’s significant potential, improving energy supply and our decarbonization needs,” Dan Howell, vice president and managing director at Kimberly-Clark UK & Ireland, said in a statement. “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.
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The offtake deal will help finance a green hydrogen production facility next to Kimberly-Clark’s Barrow plant, while another green H2 site will be built on the Northfleet site. Together the two paper plants produce nearly one billion Andrex toilet rolls and more than 150 million boxes of Kleenex tissues annually.
Carlton Power will lead the Barrow green hydrogen project, while HYRO will deliver the Northfleet facility. Both projects will supply hydrogen to replace natural gas for steam generation.
“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,” said Keith Clarke, Founder and Chief Executive of Carlton Power. “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.”
The two green hydrogen projects are supported with funding from the UK government after being selected for the Government’s Hydrogen Production Business Model and Net Zero Hydrogen Fund).
Green hydrogen is an energy-dense gas which can contribute to fueling baseload power generation and combined heat and power. It is also the most abundant chemical element in the universe but is challenging to produce at scale. One method is electrolysis, and the other is the more carbon-intensive steam reforming of methane gas.
Hydrogen also is a reliable energy carrier, stores efficiently and can also produce ammonia for both agricultural and maritime transportation purposes.
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About the Author
Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor
Managing Editor
For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].
Rod Walton has spent 17 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.
Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World.
EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.
He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023
Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.