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Consumer goods manufacturer Kimberly-Clark, known for brands such as Andrex® and Kleenex®, has announced a major £125 million (US$168.9 million) investment in green hydrogen infrastructure to decarbonize its UK operations. The initiative, supported by the UK government’s Hydrogen Allocation Round One (HAR1), will significantly reduce the company’s reliance on natural gas and cut carbon emissions across its production sites.
Key Project Highlights:
- Hydrogen Deployment Sites:
- Barrow-in-Furness: 100 GWh of green hydrogen annually
- Northfleet: 47 GWh annually
- Natural Gas Reduction: 50% cut in consumption from 2024 levels by 2027
- Carbon Emissions Impact: 28,500 tonnes reduced annually—equivalent to removing 20,000 petrol cars from UK roads
- Production Output: Nearly 1 billion Andrex toilet rolls and 150 million Kleenex tissue boxes produced annually across both sites
The hydrogen will replace fossil-fuel-based steam generation, marking Kimberly-Clark as the first UK consumer goods manufacturer to adopt green hydrogen at scale. The company is partnering with Carlton Power and HYRO, a joint venture between Octopus Energy Generation and RES, to deliver the infrastructure.
“Now is the right time for us to tap into hydrogen’s significant potential,” said Dan Howell, Vice President and Managing Director at Kimberly-Clark UK & Ireland. “This investment shows how an energy-intensive industry can lead the way in adopting green hydrogen at scale.”
Government Support and Planning
Both projects have received planning approval—Barrow in June 2023 and Northfleet in August 2024—and are backed by the Hydrogen Production Business Model and the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund.
“Hydrogen will help us cut industrial emissions and support Britain’s industrial renewal,” said Sarah Jones, UK Minister for Industry. “This is part of our Plan for Change to roll out clean energy across the country.”
Broader Sustainability Goals
This investment complements Kimberly-Clark’s wider environmental strategy, including a £75 million wind energy agreement in Scotland signed in 2023. Globally, the company aims to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030, and continues to expand its renewable energy footprint across Europe and Africa.
You can read more from ESG News, ESM Magazine, and Global Hydrogen Review.
