Hydrogen and Irish transport

While renewable technologies have accelerated the decarbonisation of electricity, the decarbonisation of transport remains more elusive. As other countries begin to formulate national hydrogen strategies, Ireland must consider how it unlocks the potential of hydrogen for mobility.

The potential of hydrogen lies in its versatility. It can be integrated into the electricity system, blended with natural gas for heat and used to power fuel cell vehicles. The comprehensive opportunity for decarbonisation means that hydrogen is likely to form a significant component of the future global energy mix.

There are three main types of hydrogen. Grey hydrogen is sourced from fossil fuels or biomass and can be decarbonised through carbon capture and storage to produce blue hydrogen. Green hydrogen is produced through the electrolysis of water using renewable electricity. It is anticipated that there will be a large-scale transition from grey to blue to green hydrogen in the future.

There are several barriers to the transition from fossil fuels to green hydrogen at GW scale. Firstly, the cost of production is determined by the price of renewable electricity and the cost of electrolysers. Within this, efficiency and scale are important factors. That being said, renewable electricity costs are declining. Secondly, green hydrogen poses logistical challenges, such as the location of hydrogen production facilities, alongside the subsequent storage and transport of the hydrogen.

The Future of Hydrogen

In the overview of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) 2019 report on The Future of Hydrogen: Seizing Today’s Opportunities, Executive Director Fatih Birol writes: “The report finds that clean hydrogen is currently enjoying unprecedented political and business momentum, with the number of policies and projects around the world expanding rapidly. It concludes that now is the time to scale up technologies and bring down costs to allow hydrogen to become widely used.”

The IEA outlines that in transport, fuel cell costs and refuelling stations dictate the competitiveness of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, while hydrogen represents an opportunity in shipping and aviation where there are relatively few low-carbon alternatives.

The Future of Hydrogen report identifies the expansion of hydrogen in transport through fleets, freight and corridors as a near-term opportunity for its “clean, widespread use”. “Powering high-mileage cars, trucks and buses to carry passengers and goods along popular routes can make fuel-cell vehicles more competitive,” it suggests.

International perspective

Internationally, Japan, which published its Basic Hydrogen Strategy in 2017, and Australia, which has produced several strategy documents, have pooled their efforts to develop the world’s first hydrogen fuelled ship. Meanwhile, the European Commission has emphasised the role of clean hydrogen in Europe’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050. Indeed, the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, announced as part of the New Industrial Strategy for Europe in March 2020 was launched in July 2020.

In June 2020, the German Government finalised its own National Hydrogen Strategy, which maintains that “only hydrogen produced on the basis of renewable energies (green hydrogen) is sustainable in the long term”. The Strategy references the EU’s Covid-19 stimulus package which “provides for a further €7 billion euros to be made available for the market ramp-up of hydrogen technologies in Germany and a further €2 billion for international partnerships”.

Under the ‘future strategic market of transport’ heading, the German Strategy indicates that hydrogen is an alternative in scenarios where the direct use of electricity is “not practical or technically not feasible”. It recommends “the demand-oriented construction” of refuelling infrastructure to enable hydrogen as an alternative in passenger vehicles.

A national strategy for Ireland

In A National Hydrogen Strategy is Needed to Develop Ireland’s Hydrogen Potential, the UCD Energy Institute advocates the position that Ireland must now formulate its own hydrogen strategy and participate in the European Commission’s discussions on the opportunities for Europe as a whole.

In the report, UCD’s Eoin Syron and Mary Doorly emphasise that the development of hydrogen as a green fuel to underpin a zero-emissions energy system requires both supply and demand. They recommend, therefore, that a market for hydrogen as a fuel be established. “The highest value for hydrogen as a fuel,” it says, “can be obtained when it is used for transport.” This necessitates both refuelling infrastructure and a fleet of hydrogen powered vehicles. Given the experience with electric vehicle charging infrastructure, this could take some time.

Hydrogen roadmap

In late 2019, Hydrogen Mobility Ireland (HMI), an all-island, multi-stakeholder consortium comprising industry members and policy leaders published A Hydrogen Roadmap for Irish Transport, 2020–2030. The document represents the HMI’s ambition to “develop a hydrogen mobility strategy for Ireland, setting out a pathway for the introduction of hydrogen production sites, hydrogen stations and hydrogen vehicles between now and 2030”.

“The highest value for hydrogen as a fuel can be obtained when it is used for transport.”
Eoin Syron and Mary Doorly, UCD Energy Institute

The strategy identifies six main benefits that can be delivered for Ireland by 2030.

1. Hydrogen as a mass market, zero carbon fuel: Hydrogen can be produced with virtually zero emissions in its production chain.

2. Cost competitiveness: The cost of hydrogen vehicles and infrastructure is decreasing, while the range in vehicles is increasing. Total cost of ownership could reach equilibrium with conventional vehicles as early as the mid-to-late 2020s.

3. No local pollutant emissions: The only emission from hydrogen as a fuel is water.

4. Use in heavy transport: Plug-in battery solutions may not be viable for long-range and heavy-use vehicles types, whereas hydrogen offers a potential solution to decarbonise trains, ships and aviation.

5. Direct economic benefits: Hydrogen can be produced domestically, meaning that unlike traditional transport fuels, Ireland will directly benefit.

6. Catalysing effect on other hydrogen applications: The experience garnered from an early transition to hydrogen in transport could benefit long-term applications in heating.

However, to successfully compete with conventional vehicles, hydrogen vehicles require a total cost of ownership which is equal or less. Until economies of scale dictate otherwise, it is inevitable that initial hydrogen vehicles will be more expensive than their carbon combustion engine counterparts. The HMI suggests that this higher cost could be mitigated by a suite of policies, including purchase grants and tax exemptions.

Production

The Hydrogen Roadmap for Irish Transport focuses on three pathways for the production of hydrogen in Ireland.

1. Electrolysers co-located with renewable electricity generators.

2. Electrolysers co-located with waste plants.

3. Large-scale reformation of natural gas alongside carbon capture and storage.

A consultation seeking views in relation to the development of the Biofuels Obligation Scheme (BOS) for the period 2021 to 2030, including the level of renewable energy in the transport sector in 2030 was held by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment and closed in late 2019. Introduced in 2010, the BOS requires motor fuel suppliers to ensure that biofuels represent an ascribed portion of national annual fuel sales. At the beginning of 2020, this obligation increased to 11 per cent by volume. The HMI’s consultation submission welcomed the proposal to include renewable hydrogen in the revised BOS.

The update to the BOS will dictate the mix of hydrogen production in Ireland and the HMI maintains that a BOS that incentivises the production of green hydrogen will benefit the greenest production pathways. In turn, the HMI projects, this could encourage the development of 30 electrolyser sites during the 2020s, leading to the production of 100 per cent green hydrogen.

Infrastructure

Simultaneously, the HMI strategy envisages captive fuel fleets, including buses, vans and taxis, operating within specific geographic locations. The geographic constraint and heavy use can guarantee a demand for fuel which can be supplied by a relatively small cohort of refuelling stations, improving the economics of this infrastructure. The first clusters of hydrogen demand, it says, will be developed in Dublin and Belfast as the island’s two largest population centres.

In order to facilitate the free movement of hydrogen vehicles, a network of hydrogen refuelling stations will need to be rolled out across the island on a phased basis, matching demand and ensuring a business case. The HMI’s strategy for hydrogen refuelling infrastructure visualises an initial cluster of three stations in Dublin, before expanding to 80 stations providing basic national coverage. By 2030, it indicates, each of the island’s cities and major towns, as well as main connecting routes, will have clusters of hydrogen refuelling stations.