Ms Catherine Joyce-O'Caollai:

That is where one tries to learn while doing. In the absence of an existing legal and regulatory framework, one tests processes.

It is a strong innovation tool. With respect to how it would apply in an Irish context, we believe it could be very useful for renewable energy clusters. Some sectors are already using hydrogen and the use and integration of green hydrogen into their processes could be tested.

As mentioned, another good example is sustainable aviation fuel. As an island economy, aviation is obviously an important enabler to regionally balanced growth. That could be a nice sector to focus on to see what is required to enable such fuel to be produced at scale. As somebody said to me, the Shannon Airport zone was a traditional form of a regulatory sandbox where innovative financial tools and mechanisms could be tested in addition to trying to test what the economic effect and benefit is. Sustainable aviation fuel could be a good test-bed. There are companies on the island of Ireland that are looking to produce that, such as Catagen, which is based in Northern Ireland, and others are in inception.