Hydrogen should be key part of sustainable energy system, says leading academic

#Stephen Kent CEO, Bus Éireann; Transport Minister Eamon Ryan; and Anne Graham, CEO, National Transport Authority; with hydrogen-fuel-cell-electric double-deck buses.

Hydrogen could be the key to completely renewable, decarbonised, and secure energy in Ireland, says a leading academic.

James Carton, assistant professor in sustainable energy and hydrogen technology at Dublin City University, says that hydrogen could enable us to decarbonise our energy system, and support clean, secure electricity supply.

Speaking to an Oireachtas committee on environment and climate action, Mr Carton advocated for investment in hydrogen production using renewable wind energy.

“We have an opportunity in Ireland to build out renewables and ensure their ability to provide energy security to Ireland, and hydrogen can enable this; even becoming a green hydrogen exporter in place of a fossil fuel LNG importer,” he said.

Ireland has been revolutionised by electricity since the Shannon Scheme connected the first towns in 1929, but according to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) electricity only accounts for 20% of Ireland’s energy system, and the majority of that electricity is produced by fossil fuels.

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The other 80% of energy used in Ireland is not electric, and fuels most of our heating and transport activities.

“These are difficult to decarbonise and difficult, expensive and slow to fully electrify,” said the assistant professor.

He said that we will require more than electrification to reduce the amount of CO2 our energy system emits.

“Pathways to decarbonisation require not just electrons but molecules [working together]; hydrogen is a key component to decarbonising”.

Hydrogen acts like electricity, in that it is an energy carrier, and can similarly be produced with existing energy resources. Most hydrogen is currently produced by fossil fuels [grey hydrogen], but can also be produced using renewable sources such as wind and solar power [green hydrogen].

Once produced, hydrogen can be used in the same way as natural gas in fuel cells, turbines, and combustion engines; and when burned with oxygen it emits no carbon — only water.

A report by the World Energy Council has highlighted the challenges to scaling up hydrogen in an energy system, mainly being the “chicken and the egg” problem of supply and demand. 

Since the hydrogen economy is at an embryonic stage of development, demand is low, and as hydrogen is not being produced on a large scale, production costs remain high.

Mr Carton recommended that Ireland follow the lead of many EU countries and countries worldwide, and develop the infrastructure to produce hydrogen with renewable energy, and store it. 

He suggested hydrogen could be used to power certain sectors such as heavy transport, industry, and data centre power generation.

The Department of Transport’s low-emission bus trial has already seen the rollout of several hydrogen fuelled buses, which are currently being used on commuter services in the greater Dublin area. 

The report on the findings of phase two of the low-emission bus trial will be published later this year.