Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter, which is of great interest to me. Scenarios for net zero emissions by 2050 include a potentially significant role for the use of zero-emission gases, including green hydrogen. In planning for the longer term, we will ensure that they can meet their potential.

The Climate Action Plan 2021, published in November, identifies green hydrogen as having the potential to support decarbonisation across several sectors, including: high temperature heat for industry; transport, including aviation and marine fuels and some limited heavy and long-haul ground transport; and, in Ireland, for long-duration electricity storage. The Climate Action Plan 2021 already includes actions relating to green hydrogen in the electricity, enterprise and transport sectors. It also sets out how green hydrogen could address some of the challenges faced by the energy sector, such as providing a backup for intermittent renewables. A key target set out in the climate action plan is to carry out a work programme to identify a route to deliver 1 to 3 terawatt, TW ,hours of zero-emissions gas, including green hydrogen, by 2030.

It is the intention of the Minister, Deputy Ryan, to publish a consultation on the development of a green hydrogen strategy in the first half of this year. As part of this strategy, the Department will first look at the areas of demand where we think green hydrogen will be necessary, competitive, efficient and where better alternatives do not exist. Displacing fossil fuel-derived hydrogen in industry would be a clear and sensible use of green hydrogen. We will not look to incentivise green hydrogen in areas where direct electrification or efficiency would be better solutions. As an example of this, direct hydrogen gas heating would require five to seven times more renewable electricity than a heat pump.

We will also look at supply of green hydrogen, identifying the potential for both dedicated hydrogen production from renewable electricity, but also using curtailed energy from grid electricity. There is a need to rapidly develop green electricity to displace fossil electricity first. However, there may be areas where, through constraints on the grid, green hydrogen may be a more efficient route to decarbonisation of our energy use without the need for additional grid infrastructure.

There are several companies already looking at this opportunity in the midlands and the west. I welcome the recent publication of Wind Energy Ireland’s report, compiled in conjunction with Green Tech Skillnet, on green hydrogen. I also welcome the support of Sinn Féin and its Private Members’ Bill on the development of a hydrogen strategy for Ireland.

The climate action plan is a living document and will be updated on an annual basis to reflect ongoing developments and targets achieved. My Department continues to work with the relevant Departments, agencies and stakeholders to carry out research and develop policies to support the uptake of green hydrogen. I expect a strategy focusing on the development of green hydrogen to be included in the climate action plan 2022. An extensive public consultation process was undertaken as part of the development of the Climate Action Plan 2021. In the future there will be ongoing dialogue with citizens and stakeholders, including public consultation.

In the context of the transport sector, a very important aspect of green hydrogen is its potential to support the decarbonisation of transport. It is envisaged that green hydrogen can contribute to the decarbonisation of those hard to abate sectors, such as those relating to heavy goods vehicles, HGVs, shipping and, potentially - as a synthetic fuel - aviation during the second half of this decade. It also has the potential to be used in the manufacture of synthetic fuels for transport. I am very keen to see Ireland, as an island, lead with decarbonising aviation. We have a significant aviation leasing sector, and I was happy to see its report published recently on the decarbonisation of air travel. It realises that there is a significant risk of stranded aviation assets if it are not at the forefront of decarbonisation.

As part of the renewable fuels for transport policy statement that was published in November of last year, the Minister for Transport announced that from 2023, subject to legislation, renewable fuels of non-biological origin, such as green hydrogen and synthetic fuels produced from it, will be eligible for credits as part of the renewable fuels obligation scheme. Further, in recognition of the need to incentivise their development, they will be awarded multiple credits. Also, under the shared island dialogues, the Department of Transport, together with the Department of the Taoiseach, are progressing projects that will explore the topic of safety regulation for hydrogen as a transport fuel and they will set out a roadmap for the installation of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure servicing travel between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

In addition, the Department of Transport is supporting green hydrogen development through the provision of policy advice for projects looking at the development of green hydrogen infrastructure, such as the Galway green hydrogen hub and Hydrogen Mobility Ireland projects. It is also supporting it through the introduction of the alternatively fuelled heavy-duty vehicle grant in March 2021 and through working with the Minister for Finance to announce, in budget 2022, the expansion of accelerated capital allowance scheme for natural gas propelled vehicles and related equipment to include hydrogen vehicles and equipment.