Everything you need to know about green hydrogen and what it means for Ireland’s climate goals

Green hydrogen will be part of Ireland’s energy future.

IN SCHOOL, WE learn about all sorts of energy sources, but thanks to advances in science and technology, we are finding ways to create new, renewable and carbon-free sources of energy.

Green hydrogen is one such example. Gas Networks Ireland is at the forefront of modernising Ireland’s energy infrastructure, such as our 14,758 km pipelines, which transport gas to homes, businesses and large industrial users around the country.

Over the coming years, this infrastructure will be expanded and repurposed where necessary in order to transport renewable gas (biomethane and green hydrogen) around the country, powering our lives and meeting our energy demands in a clean, sustainable way.

Gas Networks Ireland / YouTube

So what exactly is green hydrogen? In technical terms, green hydrogen is a source of energy produced by using renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen in a process known as electrolysis. It is produced without the release of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and so is both a carbon-free and renewable gas.

In real terms, green hydrogen is a cornerstone of Ireland’s energy strategy going forward. The Irish government has published a National Hydrogen Strategy and recently mobilised a Task Force to oversee its implementation. Because it is carbon-free, it’s an essential resource when it comes to meeting Ireland’s long-term goal of decarbonising our energy system. The government sees hydrogen offering three key benefits:

1. Addressing “hard to decarbonise” sectors

2. Enhancing Ireland’s energy security

3. Creating industrial and export market opportunities

While some renewable gases, such as biomethane, are already being integrated into Ireland’s energy consumption, the integration of green hydrogen is a longer-term goal and is strongly linked to the development of renewable generation in Ireland, particularly the deployment of offshore wind. In the meantime, as Gas Networks Ireland focuses on testing, trialling and safety case development to prove the network’s readiness for hydrogen.

At its Network Innovation Centre in Dublin, the team is running a series of research projects in collaboration with universities and experts to test how hydrogen can safely work with the existing gas network. These include studying how hydrogen affects gas pipes and materials, and how much hydrogen consumers can use with their current equipment. Together, these projects are helping pave the way for a cleaner, more sustainable energy future for everyone in Ireland.

Earlier this year, Gas Networks Ireland partnered with National Gas in the UK to accelerate the development of hydrogen and biomethane solutions. This strategic partnership will include exploring the potential for a future hydrogen interconnector between Ireland and the UK. This initiative represents a significant step toward a low-carbon, secure energy future. By aligning innovation efforts across borders, both organisations are laying the groundwork for a more sustainable and resilient energy system.

In the next decade the blending of hydrogen with the overall gas supply is anticipated to begin and initial hydrogen clusters will be developed and Ireland expects to see significant growth in green hydrogen volumes. The focus of Gas Networks Ireland will shift to the wholesale repurposing of the network and facilitating hydrogen clusters, delivering the vital connectivity that pipeline networks can provide between sources of green hydrogen production and its use.

Renewables like green hydrogen and biomethane are set to transform Ireland’s energy consumption, and there is ambition that renewable gases will continue to increase with a long-term vision that a net-zero gas network would be delivered, with green hydrogen potentially representing roughly 70% of the gas used on the network and biomethane representing the residual 30%.

This would require Ireland’s gas network to be divided into two distinct networks: a national hydrogen network and a regional biomethane network.

As such, green hydrogen (and biomethane) presents us with the opportunity to totally revolutionise our energy future in a way that makes Ireland cleaner, more sustainable and more self-sufficient.

To learn more about how Gas Networks Ireland is helping move Ireland towards a green energy future, visit https://www.gasnetworks.ie/pathway-net-zero/.