Ireland

International Hydrogen Policies

Country: Ireland

Document type: National Strategy

Title: National Hydrogen Strategy

Released: July 2023

Summary Points:

  • Ireland would prioritise the scale up and production of renewable hydrogen.
  • Prior to 2030, hydrogen would be produced from grid connected electrolysis from surplus renewables.
  • A 2 GW target of offshore wind, for the production of renewable hydrogen, to be in development by 2030.
  • The deployment of renewable hydrogen would focus on hard-to-decarbonise sectors where energy efficiency and direct electrification are not feasible or cost-effective solutions.
  • Heavy duty transport applications 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 in the longer term.
  • Indicative projections estimate that Ireland’s domestic hydrogen energy demand needs could equate to between 4.6 and 39 TWh by 2050; when including non-domestic energy needs such as International Aviation and Shipping, these values could rise to between 19.8 to 74.6 TWh.
  • In view of the wide range of potential outcomes, the strategy highlights that 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.
  • Initial 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 users and large-scale storage are co-located. The expansion and linking of these clusters into a national hydrogen network is seen as key to creating a mature hydrogen market.
  • Where feasible, repurposing existing natural gas pipeline infrastructure to hydrogen is favourably viewed.
  • Commercial ports will play an important role in facilitating the establishment of a hydrogen economy.
  • Ireland would look to adopt the EU Hydrogen and Decarbonised Gas Package which sets out the regulatory market rules for scaling up hydrogen and the development of dedicated hydrogen infrastructures.
  • Renewable and low carbon hydrogen would be defined in line with EU regulations, and development of a certification scheme should reflect these definitions.

The strategy includes a strategic hydrogen development timeline roadmap for how the hydrogen industry can develop and scale up by 2050 and presents a guide as to when different components of the hydrogen sector are anticipated to be needed by as the sector ramps up during the country’s transition to net zero.

 

Uploaded: July 2023