Essity UK plant, which uses hydrogen instead of natural gas to make paper, receives £2.2 million in funding

The Tawd paper mill in Skelmersdale, UK, owned by Swedish company Essity, will be the first in the UK to produce toilet paper and kitchen tissues using hydrogen energy.

The UK government will provide up to £2.2 million in funding for the trial to help determine the viability of hydrogen as an alternative fuel source.

If successful, the technology could be permanently adopted at the Tawd plant and rolled out to other plants.

Andrew Hearns, director of the project, said: "Sustainability is an important part of our global business strategy. We are committed to reducing our own carbon emissions by 35% by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2050. If the trial is successful, replacing natural gas with low hydrocarbon will significantly reduce Tawd's CO2 emissions, which is an important step in the right direction to help us meet our environmental goals."

Essity is currently the UK's leading TAD(Hot Air Through Drying Technology) tissue manufacturer.

TAD is used to make softer, stronger toilet paper, but the manufacturing process is energy intensive and the company has been looking into "greener" fuels such as biomethane, electricity and biomass.

Hearns added: "Finding an alternative to the natural gas currently used for paper is not easy. But hydrogen has already been successfully trialled at one of our sister plants in Germany and we are delighted that our proposal for the North West trial has won UK government funding."

The trial, which will begin in 2024, will involve replacing burners on drying equipment in order to use this alternative fuel fully efficiently.

Reference

Sohu.com