Irish green hydrogen could be Europe's cheapest in 2030, Aurora finds

• Ireland can produce the cheapest green hydrogen in Europe by 2030, achieving a levelised cost of EUR 3.50 (USD 3.73) per kg under optimal conditions, Aurora Energy Research said on Tuesday.

This would certainly be 8% below optimal production expenses in Spain and 35% listed below those in Germany, with Ireland's cost benefit driven by the nation's high wind rates and increasing grid congestion.

In the research firm's modeling, Ireland's optimal conditions refer to a 100-MW electrolyser connected to 150 MW of onshore wind and also 20 MW of solar photovoltaic generation, not connected to the all-island power system as well as located in Connacht in the western part of the country.

Aurora likewise sees possible for exports as it approximates the optimal levelised cost of green hydrogen shipments from Cork to Germany in 2030 to be 13% less than Germany's optimal residential manufacturing prices.

Furthermore, Ireland has the ambition to set up 2 GW of offshore wind connected to electrolysers by 2030, suggesting a green hydrogen production of up to 138 kt a year, well above its hydrogen need, which is predicted to get to 33 kt that year.

Aurora nevertheless claims that the market can fail to establish without activity to reduce the premium to gas prices. It approximates that the optimal green hydrogen expense in Ireland in 2030 amounts EUR 89 per MWh(th), which is 82% more than its projection gas price.

"Ireland has the prospective to come to be a green hydrogen giant: its wealth of high wind rates offers a key competitive advantage, but significant financial backing will certainly be critical to kickstarting the market, either by bringing hydrogen prices according to gas prices, or by paying the cost distinction to customers directly," claimed Marlon Dey, head of Research, UK and also Ireland, at Aurora Energy Research.