Green hydrogen

Ireland is on a legally binding path to net-zero emissions by no later than 2050, and to a 51% reduction in emissions by 2030. Decarbonised gases like hydrogen will be a critical component of Ireland's net zero integrated energy system. Its use will be targeted towards "hard to decarbonise" sectors. Ireland has a strategic opportunity to produce renewable hydrogen at scale, with potential to produce more than our own indigenous needs. The establishment of a renewable hydrogen industry in Ireland can play an important role in Ireland's future energy security, supporting continued economic growth, opening potential new markets, including exports, and domestic industrial opportunities. 

The Government's first National Hydrogen Strategy was published on July 12th, 2023. The Strategy recognises that hydrogen, offers an incredible opportunity to enable Ireland to transition to a climate neutral economy by being a zero-carbon substitute for fossil fuels, meet its 2050 net-zero emissions targets, strengthen energy security, provide a pathway to energy independence, and create a new energy export market.    

The Strategy includes a list of 21 actions in its publication including the requirement to assess policy supports and business models for large-scale hydrogen storage, development of a transition plan for the gas network, continuation of research into hydrogen blending, development of a blue print for delivering a hydrogen certificate scheme, certification that new installed power generating capacity is zero emissions gases ready,  delivery of a feasibility study of local renewable energy parks, and a review of the future hydrogen needs of priority end users.

Initial small scale hydrogen applications are likely to utilise compressed tankering solutions. As production expands, hydrogen pipelines are envisioned to become the dominant transportation option. Hydrogen infrastructure is expected to roll out initially across several regional clusters where production, high priority demand and large-scale storage are co-located. The expansion and linking of these clusters into a national hydrogen network will be key to creating a liquid mature hydrogen market. Where feasible, repurposing existing natural gas pipeline infrastructure to hydrogen is favourable. Our research and work to date has shown promising results in terms of the technical capability of the gas network to transport green hydrogen.  More work is needed to better understand the costs, phasing of transition and potential impacts for existing network users. Networks and storage infrastructure, as well as interconnection import / export routes, will play a key role in ensuring security and price resilience of supply.

The deployment of renewable hydrogen in Ireland will focus on hard-to-decarbonise sectors where energy efficiency and direct electrification are not feasible or cost-effective solutions. Heavy transport applications such as freight are anticipated to be the first end use sectors to develop, followed closely by industry and flexible power generation. Aviation and maritime are expected to be large high priority end-users but these sectors will take longer to develop. Future work is needed to better understand the needs of potential end-use sectors, the volumes of renewable hydrogen required within these sectors and the role that renewable hydrogen can play in an integrated net zero energy.

Gas Networks Ireland established its Network Innovation Centre, located in Citywest, Dublin, to understand the full potential of hydrogen and ensure that the gas network is capable of safely transporting and storing both blended and up to 100% hydrogen into the future. Working with University College Dublin's Energy Institute (UCDEI), one of the first innovation projects undertaken was 'Testing of Blends of Hydrogen and Natural Gas' (HyTest). The team tested the operation and performance of gas appliances utilising a range of hydrogen concentrations from 2% to 20% hydrogen. The research found that householders using natural gas blended with up to 20% hydrogen will not need to make any change to their existing domestic appliances or notice any difference. There was also a substantial emissions reduction obtained by blending hydrogen with natural gas. These outcomes are important from a network safety and end user perspective, and also to support plans to fully convert the network to renewable gas over time.