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 H₂ 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 20-MW Kitt Green H₂ 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 16,000 tpy. The H₂ will be produced by an electrolyzer using electricity generated from sources of renewable energy, primarily wind and solar power.

The Kitt Green project is the fifth green H₂ project that Carlton Power is taking forward within the UK.

Eric Adams, H₂ Projects Director at Carlton Power said, “We’re delighted to be working with Kraft Heinz to bring forward a green H₂ facility at Kitt Green to help the company accelerate its efforts to decarbonize their operations. It is critical that projects like this are brought forward to support British companies, especially in manufacturing, in reducing their carbon emissions and reaching net zero.”

Jojo Lins De Noronha, President, Northern Europe, 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. We’re excited to partner together to develop our first, renewable H₂ energy project globally and hope to see more projects like these in the future.”

Subject to planning approval and financing, the £40-MM Carlton/Kraft Heinz renewable H₂ scheme is earmarked to enter operation in 2026. Its construction will be contingent on securing financial support from the UK Government’s second H₂ Allocation Round (HAR2) of the H₂ Production Business Model (HPBM), which the Government has launched to support UK industry’s switch to H₂ and encourage growth of the H₂ 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 H₂ to Kitt Green in 2026/27. A submission to DESNZ will be made this year (via HAR2), following consultations with local and national stakeholders.