Kimberly-Clark UK & Ireland, the manufacturer of household brands including Andrex and Kleenex, has become the first major consumer products company in the UK to sign long-term offtaker agreements for green hydrogen, to decarbonize production of products including toilet and facial tissues.
The company is partnering with Carlton Power and HYRO – the latter being a joint venture between Octopus Energy Generation and RES – to invest over £125 million (US$168.9 million) into green hydrogen infrastructure at Kimberly-Clark’s UK manufacturing sites in Kent and Cumbria.
The use of green hydrogen, generated via electrolysis using renewable energy sources, will replace natural gas used for steam generation at the sites. The initiative is a key component in Kimberly-Clark’s strategy to reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions by over 80% in the UK by 2027 versus a 2015 baseline.
Combined, the Northfleet and Barrow-in-Furness sites currently produce nearly one billion Andrex toilet rolls and over 150 million boxes of Kleenex tissues a year, with the new investment expected to enable a 50% reduction versus Kimberly-Clark’s 2024 natural gas consumption across its UK production lines from 2027.
The two long-term offtaker hydrogen supply agreements will result in a green hydrogen facility being installed next to the Barrow plant, while a separate facility will be built on the Northfleet plant.
Dan Howell, Vice President and Managing Director at Kimberly-Clark UK & Ireland, said:
“Now is the right time for us to tap into [green] 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.”
Kimberly-Clark has estimated that the Barrow project will deliver 100 GWh of green hydrogen annually, while the Northfleet facility will supply 47 GWh. Combined, the projects are projected to reduce carbon emissions by 28,500 tonnes per year.
Both projects were selected under the UK Government’s Hydrogen Allocation Round One (HAR1), receiving support through the Hydrogen Production Business Model and Net Zero Hydrogen Fund. Planning approval has been secured for each facility, with Barrow receiving consent in June 2023 and Northfleet in August 2024.
Sarah Jones, UK Minister for Industry, said:
“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.”
This milestone builds on Kimberly-Clark’s broader sustainability efforts, including a 2023 power purchase agreement tied to a £75 million onshore wind farm in Scotland. The company remains committed to halving its global Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 and continues to expand its renewable energy portfolio across Europe and Africa.
