Pilkington UK to scale low carbon glass production under hydrogen plans

Pilkington UK will scale its production of low carbon glass from 2027 under plans with Grenian Hydrogen to produce green hydrogen at its manufacturing base.

A hydrogen plant at Pilkington UK’s Greengate Works site in St Helens will provide the manufacturer with up to seven tonnes of zero-emission hydrogen each day.

This will enable the company to eliminate 15,000 tonnes of carbon from its direct emissions each year, paving the way for the expanded production of low carbon architectural glass for buildings.

Plans to build the hydrogen plant powered by renewable electricity were put forward for public consultation last month ahead of Grenian Hydrogen submitting a planning application this summer.

It aims to start construction at Greengate Works in 2025, and to begin decarbonising Pilkington UK and the surrounding industry by 2027. The project at Pilkington UK is the first that Grenian will submit for planning permission.

Neil Syder, managing director at Pilkington UK, said: “Securing a cost-effective, high-volume supply of green hydrogen at our Greengate site allows us to permanently scale the production of low carbon glass.

"As an integral supply chain material into the built environment, this represents an important cornerstone in the delivery of carbon free buildings – by enabling the specification of low carbon glass to become more routine for architects and specifiers."