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Released July 31, 2023 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Mercury Renewables is moving ahead with plans for a 200 million-euro (US$222 million) hydrogen plant and associated windfarm in the same week that the Irish government revealed its long-awaited Hydrogen Strategy.
The company has submitted what is the country's first Strategic Infrastructure Development (SID) planning application to the national planning authority, An Bord Pleanála, for a utility-scale windfarm and green hydrogen project. Located on the borders of counties Mayo and Sligo, the proposed Firlough hydrogen plant will boast a 75-megawatt (MW) electrolyser capable of producing up to 30 tonnes per day of green hydrogen, which the company claimed would be enough to fuel 1,000 heavy goods vehicles on an ongoing basis. The plant would be fully powered by the neighboring 13-turbine windfarm with a generating capacity of 78 MW.
"We started investigating the feasibility of producing green hydrogen in the West of Ireland back in 2020, mostly due to its world class wind resource but also because of the surplus electricity the Firlough Wind Farm is expected to produce," Tim Bills-Everett, chief operating officer of Mercury Renewables told Business Plus. "Our Firlough Wind Farm and Green Hydrogen project will act as a catalyst to attract new business to the region, potentially creating hundreds of new jobs in addition to those directly related to the project. Firlough represents a significant step forward in establishing an Irish Green Hydrogen economy, with the West of Ireland at the forefront. We are already in discussions with several multinational companies regarding the supply of our green hydrogen for use in transportation and industry."
Industrial Info is tracking four projects associated with the development. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the report.
The news comes as Ireland's Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan launched the National Hydrogen Strategy which aims to harness its location and wind resources to make it an attractive location for renewable hydrogen production. The goal is to produce up to 2 gigawatts (GW) of green hydrogen by 2030. The government claimed that renewable hydrogen is envisioned to play an important role as a "zero-emission source of dispatchable, flexible electricity, as a long duration store of renewable energy, in decarbonising industrial processes, and as a transport fuel in sectors such as heavy goods transport, maritime and aviation".
Ryan said: "The National Hydrogen Strategy is our first major policy statement on renewable hydrogen and marks an important first step in developing an indigenous hydrogen sector in Ireland. Our wind resources are amongst the best in the world. Using these resources to create hydrogen, and targeting it towards those sectors which are considered hard to decarbonise, will be an integral part in ensuring the decarbonisation and security of our energy system into the future. Ireland can become a green hydrogen powerhouse from our renewable energy potential."
Ireland signed a joint declaration of intent to cooperate on green hydrogen with Germany in May. At the launch of the Strategy, semi-state energy company Bord na Mona announced that it had received the green light to to develop a 2-MW pilot scale hydrogen electrolysis plant in Mount Lucas, County Offaly--Ireland's first hydrogen plant. Construction is set to commence in 2024, with production to begin by 2025. Once operational, the new plant will generate over 200,000 kilograms of green hydrogen per annum. It will be used in the transport sector to help replace over half a million liters of diesel.
The news was welcomed by state-owned Gas Networks Ireland, which said that the move is an important milestone in the decarbonisation of Ireland's 2.7 billion-euro (US$3 billion) gas network. It estimated the cost of repurposing the existing gas network to transport hydrogen would be 10-35% of the cost of building new dedicated hydrogen pipelines. "We are delighted that the national strategy acknowledges how the 14,664-kilometer national gas network can be leveraged to accommodate hydrogen produced from wind energy, as well recognising that in the interim, natural gas will continue to be needed to ensure continued security and resilience of Ireland's energy," said Director of Customer and Business Development David Kelly. "The gas network is Ireland's hydrogen-ready infrastructure and reliable energy backbone which will continue to play a central role in the country's future clean energy and hydrogen economies."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
The company has submitted what is the country's first Strategic Infrastructure Development (SID) planning application to the national planning authority, An Bord Pleanála, for a utility-scale windfarm and green hydrogen project. Located on the borders of counties Mayo and Sligo, the proposed Firlough hydrogen plant will boast a 75-megawatt (MW) electrolyser capable of producing up to 30 tonnes per day of green hydrogen, which the company claimed would be enough to fuel 1,000 heavy goods vehicles on an ongoing basis. The plant would be fully powered by the neighboring 13-turbine windfarm with a generating capacity of 78 MW.
"We started investigating the feasibility of producing green hydrogen in the West of Ireland back in 2020, mostly due to its world class wind resource but also because of the surplus electricity the Firlough Wind Farm is expected to produce," Tim Bills-Everett, chief operating officer of Mercury Renewables told Business Plus. "Our Firlough Wind Farm and Green Hydrogen project will act as a catalyst to attract new business to the region, potentially creating hundreds of new jobs in addition to those directly related to the project. Firlough represents a significant step forward in establishing an Irish Green Hydrogen economy, with the West of Ireland at the forefront. We are already in discussions with several multinational companies regarding the supply of our green hydrogen for use in transportation and industry."
Industrial Info is tracking four projects associated with the development. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the report.
The news comes as Ireland's Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan launched the National Hydrogen Strategy which aims to harness its location and wind resources to make it an attractive location for renewable hydrogen production. The goal is to produce up to 2 gigawatts (GW) of green hydrogen by 2030. The government claimed that renewable hydrogen is envisioned to play an important role as a "zero-emission source of dispatchable, flexible electricity, as a long duration store of renewable energy, in decarbonising industrial processes, and as a transport fuel in sectors such as heavy goods transport, maritime and aviation".
Ryan said: "The National Hydrogen Strategy is our first major policy statement on renewable hydrogen and marks an important first step in developing an indigenous hydrogen sector in Ireland. Our wind resources are amongst the best in the world. Using these resources to create hydrogen, and targeting it towards those sectors which are considered hard to decarbonise, will be an integral part in ensuring the decarbonisation and security of our energy system into the future. Ireland can become a green hydrogen powerhouse from our renewable energy potential."
Ireland signed a joint declaration of intent to cooperate on green hydrogen with Germany in May. At the launch of the Strategy, semi-state energy company Bord na Mona announced that it had received the green light to to develop a 2-MW pilot scale hydrogen electrolysis plant in Mount Lucas, County Offaly--Ireland's first hydrogen plant. Construction is set to commence in 2024, with production to begin by 2025. Once operational, the new plant will generate over 200,000 kilograms of green hydrogen per annum. It will be used in the transport sector to help replace over half a million liters of diesel.
The news was welcomed by state-owned Gas Networks Ireland, which said that the move is an important milestone in the decarbonisation of Ireland's 2.7 billion-euro (US$3 billion) gas network. It estimated the cost of repurposing the existing gas network to transport hydrogen would be 10-35% of the cost of building new dedicated hydrogen pipelines. "We are delighted that the national strategy acknowledges how the 14,664-kilometer national gas network can be leveraged to accommodate hydrogen produced from wind energy, as well recognising that in the interim, natural gas will continue to be needed to ensure continued security and resilience of Ireland's energy," said Director of Customer and Business Development David Kelly. "The gas network is Ireland's hydrogen-ready infrastructure and reliable energy backbone which will continue to play a central role in the country's future clean energy and hydrogen economies."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
