One of Unilever’s oldest factories at port Sunlight in the North West has been powered by hydrogen.

The project is designed to provide evidence to enable major manufacturing sites to switch to low carbon hydrogen.

The demonstration at the factory that manufactures personal and home care products is led by Progressive Energy.

It is part of the ‘HyNet Industrial Fuel Switching’ programme, which is funded by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of Liverpool City Region, said: “I’ve been a longstanding and passionate advocate of innovative ways to tackle climate change.

“HyNet is a revolutionary approach to clean, green energy, and has the capacity to protect and create thousands of high-skilled, high-paid jobs across the region as we transition towards zero emission solutions.”

Madeleine McLeod, Factory Director Port Sunlight, Unilever, said: “In our operations, we’ve already reduced our emissions by 64% since 2015, and now we’re working towards our commitment to having zero emissions by 2030.”