Ameresco Leading Engineering on Kimberly-Clark's Hydrogen Boilers in UK

Microgrid and distributed energy project developer Ameresco is going to help engineer household goods provider Kimberly-Clark’s decarbonization plan to utilize on-site green hydrogen at two of its manufacturing plants in the United Kingdom.

Ameresco will serve as an engineering leader on the design and construction phases of the hydrogen boiler project at the Kimberly-Clark facilities in Barrow-in-Furness and Northfleet in the U.K. The paper plants are adding five new dual-fuel hydrogen/natural gas boilers at both facilities.

Hydrogen (also known by chemical symbol H2) is a light, energy-dense gas which does not include carbon in its molecular chain and thus does not emit CO2 at point of use when combusted. However, H2 is not generated easily but must be separated from methane gas by steam refining, which is carbon-intensive, or green hydrogen made by renewable-powered electrolyzers isolating the hydrogen in water.

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The dual-fuel boilers are expected to become operational in 2027 and are projected to reduce Kimberly-Clark’s natural gas consumption by 50%, resulting in a significant decrease in carbon emissions, an estimated reduction of 28,500 metric tons annually.

“We are thrilled to partner with Kimberly-Clark on this groundbreaking initiative within the industrial sector,” Mark Apsey, senior vice president at Ameresco, said in a statement. “The role of hydrogen is pivotal in driving decarbonization efforts across industries with moderate to high process temperature needs. Ameresco's extensive expertise in delivering green energy solutions means we are ideally placed to support this innovative project.”

Kimberly-Clark is a global household goods brand known for paper products such as Kleenex and Andrex, both produced at the U.K. facilities. Earlier this year, the company announced it was investing US$167 million to procure green hydrogen through supply deals with Carlton Power and HYRO in the U.K.

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.

Kimberly-Clark also has aimed at decarbonizing operations at other global facilities. It signed a long-term power purchase agreement to install a 2.2-MW rooftop solar array at Kimberly-Clark’s Capetown, South Africa, sites where it produces Huggies and Kotex products.