The Kraft Heinz Company has signed an agreement with Carlton Power, the UK energy infrastructure development company, to study the development of a renewable green hydrogen plant at its Kitt Green manufacturing plant in Wigan, Greater Manchester.

Kitt Green is one of the largest food processing plants in Europe and one of the largest Kraft Heinz facilities in the world, producing a quarter of a million tons of food annually and employing approximately 850 people.

The proposed 20MW Kitt Green hydrogen plant, the first to be taken forward by Kraft Heinz globally, will meet more than 50% of the plant’s annual natural gas demand and reduce the plant’s carbon emissions by 16000T/yr. The hydrogen will be produced by an electrolyser using electricity generated from sources of renewable energy, primarily wind and solar power.

The Kitt Green project is the fifth green hydrogen project that Carlton Power is taking forward within the UK.

“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. 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,” said Jojo Lins De Noronha, president, Northern Europe, The Kraft Heinz Company.

Subject to planning approval and financing, the £40m Carlton/Kraft Heinz renewable hydrogen scheme is earmarked to enter operation in 2026. Its construction will be contingent on securing financial support from the UK Government’s second Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR2) of the Hydrogen Production Business Model (HPBM), which the government has launched to support UK industry’s switch to hydrogen and encourage growth of the hydrogen economy across the country.

Over the next 12-18 months, Kraft Heinz and Carlton Power will seek to obtain planning permission for the scheme. In parallel, the two companies will work together to obtain grant funding and operational financial support from the UK Department of Energy Supply and Net Zero (DESNZ) with a target to deliver hydrogen to Kitt Green in 2026/27. 

The green hydrogen scheme is Carlton Power’s third to be developed in the North West of England and its second in the Greater Manchester region, the others being at Trafford in Greater Manchester which received planning consent in 2021 and at Barrow-in-Furness (South Cumbria) which was consented in June 2023. In December 2023, these two projects, (as well as Carlton’s Langage scheme near Plymouth, Devon) secured financial support through the Government’s Hydrogen Allocation Round 1 (HAR1).

In 2021, Kraft Heinz announced its goal to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its operational footprint (Scope 1 and Scope 2) and entire global supply chain (Scope 3) by 2050.

About the Kraft Heinz Company
 We are driving transformation at The Kraft Heinz Company, inspired by our Purpose, Let’s Make Life Delicious. Consumers are at the centre of everything we do. With 2022 net sales of approximately $26 billion, we are committed to growing our iconic and emerging food and beverage brands on a global scale. We leverage our scale and agility to unleash the full power of Kraft Heinz across a portfolio of six consumer-driven product platforms. As global citizens, we’re dedicated to making a sustainable, ethical impact while helping feed the world in healthy, responsible ways.