Sweden’s hygiene and health company, Essity, is launching a pilot project to run a paper machine CO2-free with green hydrogen in the company’s production facility in Mainz-Kostheim, Germany. The project is the first of this magnitude in the paper industry. Essity’s investment in the pilot project amounts to €4 million (approximately SEK 40 million). 

Natural gas is successively replaced by green hydrogen on the site’s largest paper machine during ongoing production. Essity is starting to use green hydrogen in its production processes. The Essity site in Mainz-Kostheim is testing to what extent green hydrogen can replace natural gas in the tissue production process without compromising on the high product quality, the company said in a press release.

Following the necessary installations and the re-build of the paper machine, Essity will gradually add green hydrogen to its energy supply. It is planned to run the drying hood of the paper machine on 100 percent green hydrogen by autumn 2022. The investment in the green hydrogen pilot project will contribute to Essity’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

“We will be the first in the world to use green hydrogen for tissue production. This is a clear commitment towards our ambitious climate agenda and a big step towards a decarbonized society. We are creating a sustainable process that is setting a new benchmark for the industry,” Magnus Groth, the president and CEO of Essity said in a media statement.