What’s In Store For Green Hydrogen?
Hydrogen is a versatile, clean and safe energy carrier that can be used as fuel for power, or in industry, as feedstock. Green hydrogen is pro-duced from renewable electricity and will play an important role in the decarbonisation of the economy. Though future energy needs will be increasingly met by renewable elec-tricity, some energy end uses are hard to electrify via the grid or with batter-ies, especially in transport.
According to David Macartney, Corporate Development Manager at Energia Group: “In many sectors, direct electrification is and will remain technologically challenging or uneconomical. This applies to heavy-duty transport, non-electrified trains, overseas transport, and aviation, but also to some energyintensive industries.”
Hydrogen also represents an optimal overall solution for long-term, carbon-free seasonal storage. As Ireland transitions towards net-zero emissions, these secondary fuel requirements will need to be reviewed, and hydrogen could play a role.
Energia Group has led the introduction of hydrogen buses on the island of Ireland. Over the last eight years, Energia has secured EU funding for a 1MW electrolyser (the equipment that splits water into its constituent elements of oxygen and hydrogen), which is in construction at Energia’s Long Mountain wind farm, in Co. Antrim.
The company also secured funding from the UK Department for Transport, to underpin Translink’s purchase of three hydrogen double-decker buses, which are now in operation, and also to support the installation of the island’s first hydrogen fuelling station, owned by Energia, which is now operational in Belfast.
“The transition to public transport using indigenous energy, such as hydrogen produced from wind or solar, will mitigate against the volatility of international gas and oil prices, and also improve security of supply,” Macartney adds.
Energia Group is also undertaking a feasibility study to enable zero-emission maritime solutions at ports and harbours in Northern Ireland. Energia is leading the consortium that includes Artemis, which is developing a zero-emission hydrofoil ferry, which will be built in Belfast.
Energia Group also believes that there is an opportunity to inject hydrogen into the gas network, and it is investigating options to produce hydrogen from curtailed electricity at its wind farms to supply to its gas customers. This could include the supply of green hydrogen to Energia’s power plants in Dublin.