Hydrogen Ireland Board member Dr Rory Monaghan, from GenComm partner NUIG spoke this week at the 2021 Irish Renewable Energy Summit. Speaking on the role of hydrogen in Ireland’s future energy mix, Dr Monaghan also discussed the EU Hydrogen strategy for 2030.
The presentation looked at services such as curtailed onshore wind, distribution and storage such as tanker trucks, end uses such as urban buses and services for example grid balancing. This was all examined in the near term , (5 years), the mid term, (5-20 years) and the long term, (Over 20 years).
Dr Monaghan argued that a hydrogen demand needs to be stimulated. This can be done by creating co funding for the trial and purchase of hydrogen buses, trucks and trains, co funding for deployment of hydrogen filling stations for buses, trucks and trains, co funding to incentivise deployment of hydrogen hubs to cluster suppliers and drive economies of scale, and a need to include renewable hydrogen in biofuels transport fuel supports as in the UK.
There was a focus on hydrogen supply chains for urban bus fleets. To model the dispensed cost of wind hydrogen to Ireland’s bus fleets, to assess the impacts on dispensed cost of adding PV arrays and batteries at existing wind farms, and to inform policymakers on the types of financial supports needed and where to get it.
Dr Monaghan concluded his presentation by stating curtailed wind and urban bus fleets are low hanging (But possibly small) fruits for renewable hydrogen, coupling wind, PV and short term battery storage optimises renewable hydrogen production and with cross sectoral coordination and policy support FCEV buses could be competitive in 2030.
