In a recent press release, Kimberly-Clark announced that it partnered with KYRO and Carlton Power to invest a combined £125 million in UK green hydrogen.

The press release states that "The company announces today that together with its energy partners, Carlton Power and HYRO (a joint venture between Octopus Energy Generation and RES), it is investing over £125 million into the emerging energy solution at its two plants in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria and Northfleet, Kent. Combined, the two sites produce nearly one billion Andrex toilet rolls and over 150 million boxes of Kleenex tissues every year. Through the investment, Kimberly-Clark expects to see a 50% reduction versus its 2024 consumption of natural gas across its UK production lines from 2027.

The two long-term offtaker hydrogen supply agreements signed with energy partners Carlton Power, and HYRO- will mean a green hydrogen facility is installed next to Kimberly-Clark's Barrow plant, while a separate facility will be built on Kimberly-Clark's Northfleet plant.

These two green hydrogen projects are being supported with funding from the UK government after being selected for the Government's Hydrogen Production Business Model (HPBM) and Net Zero Hydrogen Fund (NZHF) - a global first (also known as Hydrogen Allocation Round One - HAR1). Carlton Power's Barrow Green Hydrogen project secured local planning consent in June 2023. HYRO's innovative project at the Northfleet paper mill received planning permission, after the local council granted consent for the scheme in August 2024."

Greif recently announced the start of its first virtual power purchase agreement in Europe through Enel X Global Retail team of experts and with Enel Green Power España, following the successful construction and activation of the associated solar farms in Castilla y Léon, Spain.

The press release states that "Under the 12-year agreement, Greif will purchase approximately 100 GWh per year of clean, renewable energy, helping the company offset an estimated 65% of its Scope 2 emissions in Europe and 3% of its combined Scope 1 and 2 emissions globally.

The activation of our VPPA with Enel Green Power España and through Enel X Global Retail, is a testament to our commitment to reducing our environmental footprint and investing in sustainable solutions, said Ole Rosgaard, President and CEO of Greif. This partnership not only advances our own sustainability objectives, but by funding the development of solar energy infrastructure, we are helping accelerate the world's transition to clean, renewable energy."

Rayonier Advanced Materials also recently announced that it and GranBio, a pioneer in biochemicals and biofuels signed a MOU to explore Cellulosic Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) project at its Jesup, GA facility.

The article states that "Under the agreement, GranBio will lead the proposed project to deploy its proprietary AVAP® technology to convert lignocellulosic biomass into second-generation ethanol, which will be upgraded into SAF for sale to an offtaker. The new facility would leverage RYAM's infrastructure at the Jesup plant, including feedstock, utilities, and logistics. The project will be partially financed through GranBio's $100 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

In addition to advancing its strategic goal of maximizing value from existing assets, should the project proceed, RYAM would receive a license to GranBio's latest-generation Celer2L™ yeast and AVAP® technologies for ethanol and sugar production at its own facility, in partnership with GranBio - a meaningful step in diversifying into high-growth biofuel and biochemical markets."

We'll keep you apprised of further developments.