DECC publishes Ireland's National Hydrogen Strategy

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[Source: gov.ie]

One of the main takeaways from the National Hydrogen strategy is a 2 GW target of offshore wind, for the production of renewable hydrogen, to be in development by 2030, will help to provide greater certainty for investors and create the volumes needed to scale up the sector.

The National Hydrogen Strategy sets out the strategic vision on the role that hydrogen will play in Ireland’s energy system, looking to its long-term role as a key component of a zero-carbon economy, and the short-term actions that need to be delivered over the coming years to enable the development of the hydrogen sector in Ireland.

The Strategy is being developed for three primary reasons:

  1. Decarbonising our economy, providing a solution to hard to decarbonise sectors where electrification is not feasible, or cost-effective
  2. Enhancing our energy security, through the development of an indigenous zero carbon renewable fuel which can act as an alternative to the 77% of our energy system which today relies on fossil fuel imports
  3. Developing industrial opportunities, through the potential development of export markets for renewable hydrogen and other areas such as Sustainable Aviation Fuels

The Strategy considers the needs of the entire hydrogen value chain including production, end-uses, transportation and storage, safety, regulation, markets, innovation, and skills.

It also sets out that Ireland will focus its efforts on the scale up and production of renewable "green" hydrogen, as it supports both our decarbonisation needs and energy security needs, given our vast indigenous renewable resources. Renewable hydrogen is a renewable and zero-carbon fuel that can play a key role in the "difficult-to-decarbonise" sectors of our economy, where other solutions such as direct electrification are not feasible or cost effective.

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 decarbonising industrial processes, and as a transport fuel in sectors such as heavy goods transport, maritime and aviation. The Strategy will 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.

Click here to view the National Hydrogen Strategy report in full.