Carlton Power (energy infrastructure development company) and Schroders Greencoat (renewable energy asset management company) have reached Final Investment Decision on the Barrow Green Hydrogen Project in Cumbria, marking one of the first renewable hydrogen production facilities to achieve this milestone in the United Kingdom and the first project brought into construction by their joint venture platform, Green Hydrogen Energy Company.

A Joint Venture Milestone

The 30MW project is owned and being delivered by Green Hydrogen Energy Company, known as GHECO, a joint venture established by Carlton Power and Schroders Greencoat in 2023.

GHECO was designed as a dedicated platform through which institutional capital can be deployed at scale into UK green hydrogen production, and Barrow represents its first project to reach FID and enter construction.

Carlton Power, described as a UK independent energy infrastructure development company, originated and initially developed the project, which was first conceived in early 2022.

Schroders Greencoat is the specialist renewables and energy transition infrastructure manager of Schroders Capital. The project is set to enter commercial operation in 2028.

Carlton Power signed a Low Carbon Hydrogen Agreement with the UK Government in June 2025, following the Government's first Hydrogen Allocation Round, referred to as HAR1.

This agreement is a type of Contract for Difference. Following that signing, GHECO acquired the project and continued the commercial and technical development that has now led to the FID announcement.

Industrial Offtake at the Core

A central element of the project's commercial structure is a long-term hydrogen supply agreement with consumer goods company Kimberly-Clark, which operates a manufacturing plant in Barrow-in-Furness that produces products including Andrex and Kleenex.

Under the agreement, the Kimberly-Clark site is expected to reduce its consumption of natural gas by up to 50 percent, resulting in a reduction of 18,300 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

Kimberly-Clark's role as the industrial offtake partner gives the project what Schroders Greencoat describes as a credible anchor for its contracted revenue structure.

Kristian Høeg Madsen, Co-Head of Hydrogen Investments at Schroders Greencoat, said the team had combined a Contract for Difference, a long-term power purchase agreement, and an industrial offtake to build the kind of contracted, inflation-linked infrastructure its investors are seeking.

Key Partners Assembled

GHECO has brought together a number of significant counterparties to deliver the project. SEFE, described as a leading provider of renewable energy, will supply power to operate the plant under a long-term Power Purchase Agreement.

Plug Power, identified as one of the world's leading producers of hydrogen electrolyzers, will supply the electrolyzer equipment central to the facility's hydrogen production process.

Construction and commissioning will be fully delivered by Dalkia Engineering, a subsidiary of EDF and an experienced engineering, procurement and construction provider. The project thus draws together a supply chain spanning power supply, electrolyzer technology, and construction delivery under a single EPC contract.

Government Program Alignment

The Barrow project is positioned as supporting the UK Government's low-carbon hydrogen production program, which forms part of the country's broader clean energy mission.

The HAR1 process through which Carlton Power secured the Low Carbon Hydrogen Agreement was the Government's first allocation round for hydrogen projects.

Minister for Energy Michael Shanks commented on the development, noting that the Barrow Green Hydrogen Project reaching this stage demonstrates the clean energy mission powering the production of everyday essentials.

The project is described by the parties involved as representing a meaningful step in mobilizing private capital at scale behind the UK's hydrogen ambitions.

Platform Growth Ambitions

Barrow is framed as the first of a broader pipeline that GHECO intends to build over the coming years. The platform has set a target to build a 200MW portfolio of green hydrogen projects in the UK by 2030, meaning Barrow's 30MW capacity represents a significant initial component of that goal.

For Schroders Greencoat, the transaction marks the firm's first move into hydrogen at scale. The firm's broader energy transition capability spans hydrogen, grid infrastructure, battery storage, district heating, and electric vehicle charging.

Madsen described the FID as a key milestone for both the GHECO platform and the UK's emerging hydrogen economy, and said it was the first of many such projects Schroders Greencoat expects to deliver.

Decarbonization of Hard-to-Abate Sectors

The parties point to green hydrogen's anticipated role in decarbonizing sectors of the economy that cannot be easily electrified. Those sectors include industrial heat, steel, fertilizer, shipping, and chemicals, which together account for what the announcement describes as a significant share of global emissions.

The Barrow project's supply to the Kimberly-Clark manufacturing facility is presented as a direct demonstration of this industrial decarbonization application. Eric Adams, Carlton Power's Hydrogen Projects Director, described reaching FID as a fantastic effort from everyone involved, singling out Kimberly-Clark, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Low Carbon Contracts Company, and the GHECO team.

Adams said the project had set a benchmark for future projects and noted that navigating from conception in early 2022 through HAR1 to a final investment decision represented a significant achievement for the sector.

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