Mr. Paul Blount:

I would not like to make this session about any particular technology, but we have done quite a bit of work to look at the full spectrum of potential solutions. One technology we found to be particularly interesting, which we are actively developing projects on, is iron-air technology. The storage process would be reversible rusting. You basically allow iron to rust. That releases electrons and creates a discharge circuit. You apply the current to the cells and it reverses the rusting process. It has the benefits of being incredibly low cost. Iron is one of the most abundant metals on Earth and it is readily available. It is not a rare earth metal by any manner or means. I think they have raised more than €1 billion, give or take, in equity funding for that technology. They are building their first major manufacturing facility in the US now.

They expect to be able to manufacture at least 500 MW per annum of 100-hour storage. That would be 50 GW hours. To put that in perspective, Turlough Hill is about 1.8 GW, let us call it 2 GW. Therefore, in a factory it would be possible to manufacture the energy capacity of 25 Turlough Hills per annum, probably by 2027 or 2028 with the latter being more realistic. That is just one technology.

I attended an event on the fringes of COP26 conference in Glasgow, where the long duration energy storage, LDES, global council was launched. There are about 40 different technologies on the LDES global council. We have not looked at all of those by any means. We have looked at about 15 or 20 different technologies. That is why I bring it back to the importance of getting the right auction design and the right market.

I would not characterise it as plan-led. If the auction is designed such that the entire market is told that we want the technologies that reduce emissions at the least cost and request them to provide us with their best solutions then, provided there is a clearing mechanism that is able to pick the most cost-effective solutions in reducing emissions, the right blend of technologies will be obtained. However, it will be driven by competitive market forces. It involves tapping into the collective intelligence not just of the company I work for, but of all the members of Energy Storage Ireland, all interrogating the full spectrum of potential solutions for the system. They would bring those forward at the fastest pace they can. They would compete and the best solutions the market can provide will be obtained. It is about the planning, as in designing the auction scheme so that it is an effective, efficient auction scheme that picks the best and most effective technologies. That is where the planning is but after that, it is about tapping into the collective ability of the market to provide solutions. That is one of the neat aspects of the proposal we have. I hope that helps to answer the question.

In regard to the timing question on development, by the time land is secured, planning obtained, grid connected and the project gets to market, it depends but let us say it takes five to ten years. Five years would probably be quite quick from the start to the end and it would be disappointing if it took more than ten years. That is a rough, ballpark estimate on lead times of development.