Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

82. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment for an update on the national hydrogen strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6406/25]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I ask the Minister for an update on the national hydrogen strategy and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. The national hydrogen strategy was published in July 2023 and is our first major policy statement on renewable hydrogen. It marks an important first step in developing an indigenous hydrogen industry in Ireland. The strategy sets out our strategic vision for the role that hydrogen will play in Ireland’s energy system and as a key component of our zero-carbon economy. The three primary strategic reasons for developing an indigenous hydrogen sector in Ireland are to decarbonise our economy, enhance our energy security, and create industrial and export market opportunities.

There are 21 actions set out within the strategy to enable the development of the hydrogen sector in Ireland. These actions aim to remove barriers to early hydrogen project developments and to enhance our knowledge through targeted research and innovation across the hydrogen value chain, laying the groundwork to deliver on our long-term strategic vision. These actions have varying timelines for completion by 2030 and work has started on a number of them. These include identifying the amount of surplus renewable energy that will be available for hydrogen production, putting in place the legal and regulatory framework for this new industry, and examining the feasibility of exporting hydrogen.

We are currently finalising a detailed implementation plan for the multi-year work programme set out in the strategy to ensure appropriate governance arrangements are in place to support delivery of the actions set out within the strategy. Implementation will involve a number of Departments including the Department of Transport and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and other stakeholders. Careful planning and management structures are essential. Once completed, further clarity on the status of all actions set out within the strategy and the annual work programmes to deliver on these will be communicated. It is expected that the detailed implementation plan will be finalised in quarter 2 of this year.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Concern has been expressed, including by Hydrogen Ireland, that there is an urgent need for progress on the strategy. The strategy was welcomed and we published legislation in the previous Dáil term for it to be prepared. We welcomed it when it was prepared. It is then a matter of making it happen. There is concern that there has not been enough progress to date. While I welcome the pieces that have been progressed so far, they are largely desktop elements.

I am concerned that the potential of this opportunity will be missed if the necessary steps are not taken.

One of the areas with real potential here is the hard-to-decarbonise transport sector. There is lots of potential and a number of willing partners. Is this something the Government is exploring?

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Certainly, the potential is enormous. I talked to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and officials about this really important matter yesterday. Work has commenced on the implementation of the strategy in parallel with the delivery of many of the 21 actions currently in place that I outlined earlier. The delivery and commencement programme this year will be an important step forward in that regard and will ultimately be key to the long-term success of this sector. We have a very ambitious renewable energy programme and hydrogen is a key component of that. A number of key Government stakeholders are involved, including the Departments of transport and enterprise. They are all playing their part in trying to bring forward the best possible programme to ensure that we have proper management and governance and that we can deliver on our actions. That is really important. Later this year we will provide further clarity on the programme once it is approved in the second quarter of 2025.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The message from everybody would be to keep at that work and to ensure that those timelines are met. We must show Ireland, the stakeholders here, and the world that Ireland is going to be a leader in the area of green hydrogen. The potential is there, particularly with the offshore potential that we have but again, that needs to be delivered.

The energy security review is ongoing and we await the details of the outworking of that but one of the most important areas is gas storage. My party and I have serious concerns about the prospect of LNG but the potential to store hydrogen is real. The ESB, Bord Gáis and Gas Networks Ireland are looking at some of that potential. Does the Minister of State have an update on that? In the long term we will need to look at hydrogen on our grid and the storage of it will be really important.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

This is something that the Department is engaging with the industry on, including with many of the key stakeholders in the industry who are working in the area of hydrogen itself, along with the Health and Safety Authority, HSA. We are working on this from a safety point of view, as well as in terms of best practice to ensure that we have the best and safest practices going forward.

As regards the actions, milestones and the ownership timelines and dependencies, a working group is currently in place which was established around the three pillars of safety and regulations infrastructure, the integrated energy system market, and commercialisation. That group is tasked with the ultimate delivery of these milestones and actions. We are currently working on these themes through the working group. We will bring a plan to finalisation and seek Government approval for that in the coming months.