IRELAND HAS PUBLISHED ITS NATIONAL HYDROGEN STRATEGY
Ireland has published its National Hydrogen Strategy as it targets becoming a ‘world leader’ in the production of green energy.
Ireland’s National Hydrogen Strategy focuses on three key areas: decarbonizing its economy; enhancing energy security; and developing industrial opportunities through the development of export markets for renewable hydrogen and other areas such as Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF).
The Strategy considers the needs of the entire hydrogen value chain including production, end-uses, transportation and storage, safety, regulation, markets, innovation, and skills, with 21 areas cited on the timeline in the next seven years.
It also sets out that Ireland will focus its efforts on the scale up and production of green hydrogen, as it supports both its decarbonization needs and energy security needs, given our vast indigenous renewable resources.
In the coming years renewable hydrogen is envisioned to play an important role as a zero-emission source of dispatchable flexible electricity, as a long duration store of renewable energy, in decarbonizing industrial processes, and as a transport fuel in sectors such as heavy goods transport, maritime and aviation.
The Strategy is designed to “provide clarity for stakeholders” on how we expect the hydrogen economy to develop and scale up over the coming decades, across the entire value chain.
Eamon Ryan TD, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Transport, said, “Our wind resources are amongst the best in the world. Hydrogen represents one of the best ways of capturing these resources, and specifically our capacity to produce renewable hydrogen from our excess energy.”
“Our target of 80% renewable electricity by 2030 will mostly be dedicated to decarbonizing power generation and supporting the expanding electrification of the heat and transport sectors,” it states.
Prior to 2030, hydrogen will be produced from grid connected electrolysis from surplus renewables. This will initially be needed to meet EU targets in specific end-use sectors such as transport, and will likely be used in the power system.
The long-term ambition of the government is to develop 20GW of offshore renewable energy production by 2040 and at least 37GW by 2050.