The funding, via the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IEFT) will part support a 拢6m conversion programme that will transition the site鈥檚 existing natural gas鈥慺ired brick kilns to run on 100% green hydrogen. This will make Denton the first commercial鈥憇cale hydrogen鈥慺ired brick plant in the world.
Hydrogen firing has been identified by the UK Government as a promising long鈥憈erm solution for high鈥憈emperature industrial processes. In March, Heidelberg announced it had fuelled asphalt production using hydrogen for the first time at its Criggion quarry. In 2022, Tarmac worked with the MPA under a BEIS-backed scheme to , including using 100% hydrogen.
Wienerberger said Denton brickworks now stands as the flagship deployment for the UK ceramics sector, providing a replicable blueprint for future decarbonisation across its wider manufacturing network.
The project includes the retrofit of two tunnel kilns, replacing 224 natural gas-powered burners, installing new hydrogen supply infrastructure, and upgrading electrical and control systems, without altering the structural integrity of the existing kilns.
Linked to the Hydrogen Allocation Rounds (HAR) funding scheme, hydrogen will be supplied under a 15鈥憏ear Hydrogen Supply Agreement with Trafford Green Hydrogen, jointly developed by Carlton Power and Schroders Greencoat. Deliveries will be made via tube trailers to a dedicated onsite hydrogen offloading and pressure鈥憆eduction station.
The future challenge for heavy industrial users of energy will be whether hydrogen can be supplied at scale nationally. Current gas pipes and their associated infrastructure might be suitable, but would require extensive work to upgrade to hydrogen delivery. This then plays into the debate over electrification of domestic heating. A full scale switch over to home heat pumps and electric boilers for hot water would reduce demand on these networks, and their available funding.
Other options include clustering of energy users鈥攂ut this would require sufficient scale to justify local hydrogen electrolysis from renewables, or combination with carbon capture and storage infrastructure to produce so-called blue carbon from natural gas. And, with many construction materials dependent on specific geological features, sites that are suitable for material production may not be suitable for hydrogen production.
The target at Denton is for one kiln to be fully operational, or both kilns partially converted, to hydrogen firing by Autumn 2027. The complete transition to 100% hydrogen firing across the entire site is scheduled to commence in Autumn 2028.
Once fully operational, the switch from natural gas to green hydrogen is expected to reduce CO鈧� emissions at the Denton brickworks by over 11,600 tonnes per year, equivalent to a 9% reduction in Wienerberger Limited鈥檚 annual Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions. This investment supports Wienerberger鈥檚 long鈥憈erm strategy to reach net鈥憐ero carbon emissions and helps to meet rising demand for low鈥慶arbon building materials across the UK. This emissions reduction is equivalent to heating 4,957 UK homes for a year.