Forterra focuses on hydrogen to meet its decarbonisation targets

Trials are underway at the production site in Derbyshire using blends with different percentages of hydrogen.

Forterra (UK) recently worked with Air Products (USA), a leading industrial gas supplier, to reduce carbon emissions during its production process. At its production site in Derbyshire, Forterra successfully trialled a 20% hydrogen blend with 80% natural gas as an alternative to pure natural gas in its brick kilns.

Overseeing trials using a 100% natural gas kiln as a control variable, Forterra used hydrogen at rates of between 5% and 20%, increasing the volume of hydrogen use as the pilot project progressed. At the highest blend of a 20% hydrogen mix, there was no impact on the colour, consistency or quality of the bricks.

“After looking at several options including electrification and biomass, it became obvious quite quickly that hydrogen is the most effective option for reaching our long-term decarbonization targets,” said David Manley, Forterra’s Head of Sustainability. “We’re now exploring how we can do a similar trial on a slightly smaller kiln but with hydrogen blends of up to 100%, as well as how we would fill out our larger kilns in the future.”

For the trials, Air Products supplied a hydrogen storage and pressure and flow regulation systems.