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Posted: July 28, 2025
Kimberly-Clark UK & Ireland is investing over £125 million in green hydrogen systems at its Kent and Cumbria sites. The move will halve natural gas usage, cut emissions by 28,500 tonnes annually, and accelerate its target to reduce UK operational emissions by 80% by 2027.
Kimberly-Clark UK & Ireland, the company behind well-known brands like Andrex and Kleenex, is making a major move to cut carbon emissions from its manufacturing operations. It has become the first large consumer products manufacturer in the UK to sign long-term supply deals for green hydrogen, a cleaner alternative to natural gas. This investment, worth over £125 million ($168.9 million), will power production at its Kent and Cumbria sites with renewable energy-generated hydrogen, replacing natural gas used for steam production.
In partnership with Carlton Power and HYRO, a joint venture between Octopus Energy Generation and RES, Kimberly-Clark aims to slash its UK operational greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80% by 2027 compared to 2015 levels. Facilities at Northfleet and Barrow-in-Furness currently turn out nearly a billion Andrex toilet rolls and more than 150 million Kleenex tissue boxes each year. From 2027, the new hydrogen systems are expected to cut the company’s natural gas usage across UK production lines by half, with a green hydrogen plant built next to the Barrow site and another at Northfleet.
The Barrow project is expected to produce 100 GWh of green hydrogen annually, while Northfleet will generate 47 GWh, together avoiding 28,500 tonnes of carbon emissions each year. Supported by the UK Government’s Hydrogen Allocation Round One program, both projects have planning approval and are part of a wider national effort to scale hydrogen energy. This initiative builds on Kimberly-Clark’s previous renewable investments, including a £75 million Scottish onshore wind farm deal in 2023, as it pushes toward halving global Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030.
