Think about the last meal you had or the breakfast you had this morning – maybe some toast, maybe you put some milk in your coffee, or you might be going to the pub later to meet a friend for a beer. What do these all have in common? They all involve products that require heat to be made…the bread, the milk, the beer.
When we talk about hydrogen, we often picture massive steel plants or glass furnaces running at thousands of degrees, and we all know these industries will require hydrogen to decarbonise. However, we want to bust the myth that hydrogen is just for high-heat industries. Because it’s also essential for lower-temperature processes too - especially in food production.
From baking to brewing, dairy to meat processing, hydrogen can replace fossil fuels in industries that need reliable, steady heat. And the best part is it’s already happening.
Here are five quick examples:
- Baking with Hydrogen: The UK’s largest bakeries are starting to trial hydrogen-fired ovens. They wanted to see if hydrogen could provide the same consistent heat as natural gas. And the result? Their bread came out just the same - only now, the process is greener.
- Brewing Beer with Hydrogen: Both Heineken, at their production site in Spain and Budweiser, at their site in the North West of England, have taken steps to pilot hydrogen-powered brewing. Beer production doesn’t need extreme heat, but it does need steady temperatures for brewing, pasteurisation, and sterilisation. Hydrogen is proving it can do the job while being a clean replacement for steady, controlled heating.
- Hydrogen for Dairy: Pasteurisation is critical for making milk safe to drink. One of the UK’s largest dairy producers is looking at hydrogen to power the steam boilers needed for this process, to provide low-heat steam for food safety. Hydrogen could also be used for drying milk powder, which is a key ingredient in baby formula.
- Poultry Processing and Hygiene: Sterilisation is essential in meat and poultry processing. One of the UK’s largest poultry producers is exploring hydrogen-powered steam systems to replace fossil-fuel boilers. Again, this is about ensuring food safety while decarbonising essential processes.
- Hydrogen powered ready meals and sandwiches: We spoke to an organisation recently that supplies supermarkets with ready meals and sandwiches. They make 48 tonnes of pasta sauce a day. They trialled an electric oven, but customers actually noticed a difference in the products and their meals.
We know hydrogen is a solution for extreme heat industries, but hopefully we’ve outlined that it’s also vital for industries that need steady, lower temperatures - industries that provide products we use every single day.
If hydrogen can bake our bread, brew our beer, and pasteurise our milk, it’s clear: hydrogen isn’t just a fuel for heavy industry – it can also power the future of the food industry.
