Ireland and Germany formalise cooperation on green hydrogen

The Irish Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and the German Federal Research Ministry have signed a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDoI) on cooperation in the field of green hydrogen.

The Irish Department said that realising the full potential of offshore renewable energy resources in Ireland will be a major opportunity for green hydrogen production.

It noted that the government has set a target of 5 GW offshore energy by 2030 and is creating the environment for the development of a hydrogen industry by targeting an additional 2 GW of offshore wind for the production of green hydrogen.

The Irish government is also developing a National Hydrogen Strategy, which is expected to set out a vision for how hydrogen will be produced and used in Ireland.

When it comes to the German Hydrogen Strategy, estimates are that Germany will be able to produce around 20-30% of their hydrogen needs indigenously by 2030.

Having all that in regard, the Irish Department pointed out that there are significant opportunities for future trade in this area between the two countries.

Speaking about the Declaration of Intent (DoI), Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan said that hydrogen represents one of the best ways of capturing energy resources and sharing them with European partners including Germany.

Mario Brandenburg, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Education and Research, commented: “The results of this cooperation between Ireland and Germany will help accelerate the EU’s energy transition and will help lead to a more energy-secure Europe.”

Besides collaborating with Germany, Ireland is working on establishing partnerships with other European countries.

Back in 2022, Irish green hydrogen company EIH2 and the Port of Cork signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Dutch Port of Amsterdam to establish a supply chain for green hydrogen between Ireland and Europe via the Port of Amsterdam.

The agreement is said to reflect the collaboration between Ireland and the Netherlands as well as the European approach to working together toward becoming the first Net Zero continent.