National Hydrogen Strategy

The National Hydrogen Strategy sets out the strategic vision on the role that hydrogen will play in Ireland’s energy system, looking to its long-term role as a key component of a zero-carbon economy, and the short-term actions that need to be delivered over the coming years to enable the development of the hydrogen sector in Ireland.

The strategy is being developed for three primary reasons:

1. Decarbonising our economy, providing a solution to hard to decarbonise sectors where electrification is not feasible, or cost-effective
2. Enhancing our energy security, through the development of an indigenous zero carbon renewable fuel which can act as an alternative to the 77% of our energy system which today relies on fossil fuel imports
3. Developing industrial opportunities, through the potential development of export markets for renewable hydrogen and other areas such as Sustainable Aviation Fuels

The strategy considers the needs of the entire hydrogen value chain including production, end-uses, transportation and storage, safety, regulation, markets, innovation, and skills.

It also sets out that Ireland will focus its efforts on the scale up and production of renewable "green" hydrogen, as it supports both our decarbonisation needs and energy security needs, given our vast indigenous renewable resources. Renewable hydrogen is a renewable and zero-carbon fuel that can play a key role in the "difficult-to-decarbonise" sectors of our economy, where other solutions such as direct electrification are not feasible or cost effective.

In the coming years renewable hydrogen is envisioned to play an important role as a zero-emission source of dispatchable flexible electricity, as a long duration store of renewable energy, in decarbonising industrial processes, and as a transport fuel in sectors such as heavy goods transport, maritime and aviation. The strategy will provide clarity for stakeholders on how we expect the hydrogen economy to develop and scale up over the coming decades, across the entire value chain.

In April 2025, the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment (DCEE) commissioned ARUP to conduct a study to assess the potential for connecting future Irish hydrogen infrastructure with continental Europe, delivering on Action 8 of the National Hydrogen Strategy.

Ireland’s hydrogen production potential is much larger than the expected domestic demand, while other EU counties have significant hydrogen needs in hard-to-decarbonise sectors. This study explores the potential to export hydrogen from Ireland, to help de-risk the development of the hydrogen economy in Ireland and unlock untapped economic benefits.

The Exporting Hydrogen from Ireland study explores the demand for hydrogen, domestically and in key markets in Europe, and includes high-level technical and commercial reviews of export transit routes, such as repurposing existing pipelines, new pipelines, and non-pipeline transport (i.e. shipping).

The study provides practical, technical and commercial information to assist future hydrogen policy development. It provides an evidence base to inform the theoretical potential for exporting hydrogen to continental Europe.

The report establishes a foundation for future work, which the recently appointed Hydrogen Taskforce will advance by considering its recommendations including the need for further technical and economic analysis, to unlock Ireland’s green hydrogen potential and inform strategic choices on export and domestic integration.