It has been a significant week for Ireland's emerging hydrogen economy. Last week, the country's national hydrogen strategy was published and, shortly after, two green hydrogen production projects were announced.

Mercury Renewables, a renewable energy developer based in Mayo, submitted a new planning application to An Bord Pleanála.

The application is for the Firlough project, which combines a large-scale wind farm and a green hydrogen facility.

Located on the Mayo-Sligo border, the Firlough project aims to produce 4.5 million kilogrammes of green hydrogen annually, with a total investment of €200m.

This quantity of hydrogen would be sufficient to fuel approximately 16,665 cars, 667 lorries, 1,397 buses and 125 trains each year.

Electrolysis

The hydrogen plant at Firlough will use renewable energy generated by the accompanying wind farm. Through electrolysis - a process of water splitting - it will produce green hydrogen and oxygen without any emissions or harmful byproducts.

While Mercury Renewables hopes to begin operations in 2025, the project's start date depends on the completion of An Bord Pleanála's assessment of the application.

The planning application includes a 78MW wind farm with 13 turbines, in addition to the proposed hydrogen plant.

During the construction phase, the project is expected to create around 100 to 150 jobs and, once completed, it will provide 10 to 20 full-time and part-time positions.

Once fully operational, the Firlough project will contribute approximately €500,000 per year to a local community fund and support other local initiatives.

Bord na Móna

Elsewhere, Bord na Móna has secured planning permission for a new 2MW pilot-scale hydrogen electrolysis plant in Mount Lucas, Co Offaly.

Once operational, the new plant will generate over 200,000kg of green hydrogen per year.

The project is the first of its kind in the country and marks an important step for the green hydrogen industry, as it will contribute towards achieving the country's national target of 2GW of green hydrogen energy by 2030.

Bord na Móna stated that the green energy produced at the Mount Lucas site will be used to help decarbonise certain elements of the national transport sector. It will produce enough green energy every year to replace over half a million litres of diesel, it added.

Development strategy

The Mount Lucas plant is part of the first phase of Bord na Móna's overall hydrogen development strategy, with construction set to start next year and production to begin by 2025.

Bord na Móna said the project forms part of its commitment to the continued expansion of its renewable energy and climate solutions portfolio to support the country's green energy requirements by 2030.

Head of renewable energy John Reilly said the launch of the hydrogen production facility at Mount Lucas marks a significant milestone for Bord na Móna, as it continues its transition from fossil fuels to green energy production.

"We are looking forward to proceeding with the commercial development phase of the project leading to construction and full commercial operation by 2025, as well as the green employment opportunities that a development such as this will facilitate now and in the future," he said.

"We in Bord na Móna certainly feel green hydrogen will have a key role to play in Ireland's energy transition and will become part of our energy system as we seek to decarbonise the wider economy," he added.