HyNet demonstrates hydrogen-fueled production at Unilever’s Port Sunlight factory

At Unilever’s Port Sunlight factory in the North West, 100 percent hydrogen was used to power the production of personal care and home care products.

The demonstration, led by Progressive Energy, is part of the larger ‘HyNet Industrial Fuel Switching’ Program. As soon as low carbon hydrogen is available from the HyNet project, the Program will provide evidence to enable major manufacturing sites to switch to it.

Unilever’s Port Sunlight factory, which has been producing household brands and products since 1888, is an important part of the North West’s industrial heritage. Unilever products such as TRESemme and Persil will be manufactured using hydrogen during the trial, which is thought to be the first large-scale demonstration of 100 percent hydrogen-firing in a consumer goods production environment anywhere in the world.

In the trial, both pure hydrogen and a mixture of natural gas and hydrogen are used to power a boiler that provides steam for the manufacturing process. The demonstration of hydrogen technology at Port Sunlight will provide critical evidence to enable the decarbonization of a variety of industry sectors, contributing significantly to the UK’s Net Zero goal.

In the North West, large-scale production of low-carbon hydrogen is on the horizon. HyNet is the UK’s leading industrial decarbonisation project, with the government pushing for it to start up in the mid-2020s. Vertex Hydrogen, a HyNet consortium member, will supply low-carbon hydrogen to Cadent, another HyNet member, as part of the UK’s first 100 percent hydrogen pipeline network. Throughout the North West, the network will deliver low-carbon hydrogen to industry and power generation facilities.

Wider industry sites in the glass, food and beverage, paper, chemicals, automotive, and metals sectors are being supported by HyNet partners to enable the transition from fossil fuels to low-carbon hydrogen. NSG-Pilkington in St Helens achieved a world first in the production of flat glass using hydrogen in August 2021 as part of the HyNet Industrial Fuel Switching Programme. In February 2020, BEIS awarded the program £5.3 million through its Energy Innovation Programme.

Unilever has set a goal of achieving zero emissions from its operations by 2030 as part of their climate action commitments. Unilever is exploring and supporting the development of new renewable heating technologies, such as wind and solar, in addition to increasing their use of renewable energies such as wind and solar and introducing the ability to generate renewable energy on-site.