Leading the HyBrick project on behalf of Michelmersh is Sarah Le Gresley, Innovation Director and Michael Brophy, Group Production Director.
Michelmersh was recently awarded the “Decarbonisation Trailblazer” at the Delivering Net Zero for British Ceramics conference. This new sector conference held its inaugural event at the end of November. The event shines a spotlight on the most effective decarbonisation initiatives crucial to delivering the ceramic industry’s progress toward reaching Net Zero.
Michelmersh was awarded based on its world-first hydrogen trials, firing 100% green hydrogen to demonstrate significant reductions in embodied carbon. Its industry-leading decarbonisation project, HyBrick – showcases the Michelmersh Group’s pioneering effort to transform the clay brick manufacturing process and it is also the first of its kind to both use green hydrogen at 100% and also demonstrate the viability to high TRL levels demonstrated within the existing manufacturing environment on a clay brick kiln.
British Ceramic Confederation (BCC’s) Chief Executive, Rob Fellows said: “Delivering further decarbonisation is critical to maintaining the sector’s competitiveness and responding to the UK’s net zero ambitions in tackling climate change.”
Michelmersh is also an industry leader in reducing single-use plastics in packaging. It uses 100% renewable energy with a huge infrastructure upgrade to implement further on-site generation and showcases water harvesting methods across its sites. Michelmersh has coined the expression ‘Shaping Genuine Sustainability’ to focus on genuine reductions and production efficiencies before offsetting. With a consciousness for biodiversity net gain, Michelmersh has mature evidence of transforming a number of its former quarry stock to vastly improve natural capital into flourishing ancient woodland and vast lakes, implementing a nature-positive approach to its land assets.
Michelmersh is proud to be one of the companies highlighted by the BCC in taking steps forward in the progression of innovative decarbonisation technologies.
