Kraft Heinz Company has signed an agreement with energy infrastructure developer Carlton Power to explore developing a green hydrogen plant in Wigan, Greater Manchester.
The proposed 20MW site will be located at the company’s Kitt Green manufacturing plant, said to be one of the largest food processing plants in Europe.
This project marks Kraft Heinz’s first venture into the green hydrogen space and is expected to meet more than 50% of the plant’s annual natural gas demand.
The hydrogen will be produced by an electrolyser using electricity generated from sources of renewable energy, primarily wind and solar power.
Subject to financing and planning approval, the renewable hydrogen scheme is expected to cost £40 million and begin operations in 2026.
Over the next 12-18 months, Kraft Heinz and Carlton Power will seek to obtain planning permission for the scheme, whilst also working together to obtain grant funding and operational financial support from the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
A submission to DESNZ will be made this year via the second Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR2) of the UK government’s hydrogen production business model (HPBM), following consultations with local and national stakeholders.
Jojo Lins De Noronha, president of northern Europe at the Kraft Heinz Company, said: “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% reduction in emissions by 2030.”
Carlton Power’s hydrogen empire
The energy infrastructure firm has been growing a green hydrogen portfolio across the UK for the past few years, with Kitt Green becoming its fifth potential site.
An integral element of the company’s expansion has been its success with the HBMP in the first auction round (HAR1). Three of Carlton Power’s projects were awarded financial contracts from DESNZ.
These included a 200MW project located in Trafford, Greater Manchester, 30MW in Barrow-in-Furness (Cumbria), and a 10MW project near Plymouth (Devon).
