Ireland lacks heavy industry for typical hydrogen hubs

Ireland has potential for ample hydrogen production, but some of its proposed hub projects may face difficulties because of relatively low demand from heavy industry that act as anchor customers, according to Dublin City University assistant professor of sustainable energy James Carton.

Speaking at the Hydrogen Ireland Conference on 23 November, Carton said that of the proposed Irish hubs Cork, on the southern coast, is most likely to follow the pattern emerging in countries like the UK and the Netherlands, where hydrogen output is co-located with industries like refining, fertilisers, steel, chemicals, and cement. These can act as long-term buyers.

"The UK hubs will work fabulously around industrial facilities and Cork will probably work in that manner as well, but the rest of the country [hubs] like Shamrock, Dublin, Galway, Shannon, Limerick will have to have different anchor tenants," Carton said.

Cork hosts Ireland's only oil refinery, Irving Oil's 71,000 b/d Whitegate facility, which is flanked by power plants. Irving Oil is Ireland's largest consumer of hydrogen, and produces its own using fossil fuels. It is planning to produce electrolytic hydrogen for use in biodiesel production, the firm's director of energy transition Andy Carson said at the conference. This is still in planning stages, and the company this year ordered a 5MW electrolyser for its 300,000 b/d St John refinery in New Brunswick, Canada, which will help inform its project in Ireland, he said.

In western Ireland, Shannon Airport is likely to create some demand as will the Moneypoint power plant as it shifts away from coal, according to state-owned utility ESB's hydrogen, storage and power-to-x manager Aodhan McAleer.

There is a long list of other potential hydrogen hubs in Ireland, but most rely on future sources of demand. Various new types of hydrogen consumers were mooted at the conference, including data centre back-up, distilleries, biopharma companies and transport operators, which can afford to absorb the initially higher costs. Ireland's clean energy opportunities could see businesses like data centres migrate to the west of the country and could lead to the return of fertiliser production to Ireland, ESB's senior manager of future opportunities Meadhbh Connolly said.

There may still be a business case for such hubs, but it will be harder to secure financing compared with hubs built around very large buyers that already use hydrogen.

By Aidan Lea