Kraft Heinz cooks up £40m green hydrogen scheme for Wigan food factory

Multinational food giant teams up with hydrogen specialist Carlton Power to develop plans for electrolyser at Kitt Green food processing plant

Global food giant Kraft Heinz has struck an agreement with Carlton Power to explore plans for the development of a £40m green hydrogen scheme to help decarbonise its food processing factory in Wigan, the two firms announced today.

The proposals would see a 20MW green hydrogen electrolyser powered by renewable electricity installed at the Kitt Green manufacturing plant, which is one of the largest food processing factories in Europe and one of Kraft Heinz Company’s largest facilities in the world.

It is envisaged the green hydrogen project could meet at least half the energy needs of the factory – which produces 250,000 tonnes of food annually and employs around 850 staff – reducing the site’s carbon emissions by around 16,000 tonnes per year.

“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 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030,” said Jojo Lins De Noronha, president for Northern Europe at the Kraft Heinz Company. “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.”

The firms estimate the hydrogen project could enter into operation by in 2026. But they stressed construction of the project would be contingent on securing financial support from the UK government’s second hydrogen allocation funding round launched last year, which aims to support industrial hydrogen projects.

Therefore, under the agreement announced today, Kraft Heinz and Carlton Power said they planned to spend the next 12 to 18 months applying for planning permission, grant funding, and government support for the project.

If it gets the go-ahead, it would be Carlton Power’s fifth green hydrogen project in the UK, and its third to be developed in the North West of England. Several of Carlton Power’s other green hydrogen projects have secured government funding through previous hydrogen allocation rounds.

Eric Adams, hydrogen projects director at Carlton Power, said it was “critical that projects like this are brought forward to support British companies, especially in manufacturing, in reducing their carbon emissions and reaching net zero”.

Several local politicians have voiced their backing for the project, including Labour’s Shadow International Development Secretary and MP for Wigan, Lisa Nandy.

“Transitioning to net zero is essential to protect local jobs and defend the environment,” she said. “It is a sign of confidence in Wigan that Heinz has identified Kitt Green as the first site for investment. We look forward to working with them and the local community to develop this pioneering project.”

 

 

Source: https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4169971/kraft-heinz-cooks-gbp40m-green-hydrogen-scheme-wigan-food-factory

 

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Source: BusinessGreen.com