The Kraft Heinz Company has signed an agreement with Carlton Power, a UK energy infrastructure development company, to study a renewable green hydrogen plant being developed at its Kitt Green manufacturing plant in Wigan, Greater Manchester.
Kitt Green is one of the largest Kraft Heinz facilities in the world – producing 250,000 tons of food annually and employing approximately 850 people.
The 20 MW Kitt Green hydrogen plant, the first to be developed at a Kraft Heinz location, will meet more than 50% of the plant’s annual natural gas demand and reduce the plant’s carbon emissions by 16,000 tons annually.
The hydrogen will be produced by an electrolyzer using generated electricity from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
“Our agreement with Carlton Power is an important step forward in our efforts to reduce carbon emissions and achieve our global goal of net zero emissions by 2050, with a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030,” said Jojo Lins De Noronha, President of The Kraft Heinz Company in Northern Europe. “We’re excited to partner together to develop our first renewable hydrogen energy project globally and hope to see more projects like these in the future.”
Subject to planning approval and financing, the Kraft Heinz renewable hydrogen project will be worth over $50 million and is projected to enter operation in 2026.
Over the next 12 to 18 months, Kraft Heinz and Carlton Power will seek to gain permission for their project while working together to obtain grant funding and operational financial support from the UK Department of Energy Supply and Net Zero.
In total, this will be Carlton Power’s third green hydrogen project to be developed in the North West of England and its second in the Greater Manchester region.
“We’re delighted to be working with Kraft Heinz to bring forward a green hydrogen facility at Kitt Green to help the company accelerate its efforts to decarbonize their operations. It is critical that projects like this are brought forward to support British companies, especially in manufacturing, in reducing their carbon emissions, and reaching Net Zero,” said Eric Adams, Hydrogen Projects Director at Carlton Power.
