Former Kinsale Head gas field assessed for hydrogen storage 

ESB partnering with Tony O'Reilly's dCarbonX to examine site for gas storage

The former Kinsale Head Gas Field provided natural gas for more than 40 years.

The ESB has begun an evaluation of the depleted Kinsale Head gas field off the Cork coast to assess its potential to store large amounts of green hydrogen.

ESB has formed a partnership with dCarbonX, a firm co-founded by Tony O'Reilly who formerly headed up oil and gas exploration firm Providence Resources.

The two companies have now launched ‘Green Hydrogen @ Kinsale,’ a project to develop large-scale storage for green hydrogen off the Cork coast. They said the project, which is pending licence and planning approvals, could have the potential to store up to three TWh of green hydrogen, the equivalent of approximately 10 per cent of current Irish annual electricity consumption. Work continues to decommission the Kinsale Head gas field which provided natural gas to the national grid for more than 40 years.

A number of green hydrogen projects are being planned in Ireland that uses excess, renewable power such as wind to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen can then be stored and used as a replacement fuel for transport, shipping, industry and backup power generation.

Green Hydrogen Valley

ESB and dCarbonX have also proposed the development of a ‘Green Hydrogen Valley,’ centred around the Poolbeg peninsula in Dublin, which will enable green hydrogen production and storage. "Transforming sites – such as the recently decommissioned gas reservoirs at Kinsale Head – and repurposing reservoirs for green hydrogen can deliver large-scale sustainable energy storage for homes and businesses in the future," Padraig O’Hiceadha, ESB Strategy Manager, Generation and Trading said.

DCarbonX's chief operating officer Dr John O'Sullivan said Kinsale Head is the third Irish offshore location they are assessing with ESB for green hydrogen storage.