Andrex and Kleenex swap gas for green hydrogen

Kimberly-Clark, the parent company of well-known household brands such as Andrex, Kleenex, and Huggies, has partnered with HYRO, a joint venture between RES and Octopus Energy, to replace gas with green hydrogen at two UK manufacturing facilities. The electrolyser projects will produce green hydrogen from renewable energy sources, which will be used in hydrogen-ready boilers to generate heat for manufacturing processes. The two projects, which have won places on the UK Government's shortlist for funding, are expected to reduce thousands of tonnes of CO2 emissions annually and help the UK meet its green hydrogen targets by 2030.

Rachel Ruffle, RES EMEA CEO, stated that green hydrogen can offer industrial businesses a reliable and cost-competitive source of power, demonstrating how the transition to clean fuels can create jobs and investment, and make the UK's economy globally competitive. Alex Brierley, co-head of Octopus Energy Generation's fund management team, commented that hydrogen produced from home-grown clean energy sources such as wind and solar can be an effective solution for heavy industries that cannot electrify, and expressed hope that more businesses would follow Kimberly-Clark's lead in moving away from fossil fuels.

Oriol Margo, EMEA Sustainability Leader at Kimberly-Clark, said that the partnership with HYRO represents a significant step towards the company's ambition to use solely renewable energy to manufacture its products in the UK by 2030. The move builds on Kimberly-Clark's existing relationship with Octopus to decarbonise its UK business, which already benefits from green electricity supplied by the Cumberhead wind farm in Scotland, managed by Octopus Energy Generation on behalf of Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust (ORIT).

The HYRO joint venture plans to invest £3bn in building green hydrogen plants in the UK, creating green jobs and increasing the country's energy independence.