The German government wants to tap Ireland’s Atlantic coast wind power to make hydrogen, it will then pipe to Germany to replace its need for LNG.
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2024/12/03/ireland-has-once-in-a-lifetime-chance-to-fuel-eu-hydrogen-network/
6 Comments
Submission Statement
The German hydrogen grid is due to start construction in 2025 and be completed by 2032 at a cost of €19 billion. It can’t happen soon enough. Not only will it help end Europe’s reliance on Russia for energy, it will more quickly bring to an end its reliance on the Middle East. [Qatar has warned it will halt gas supplies to Europe if fined under EU due diligence laws.](https://www.politico.eu/article/qatar-warned-to-halt-eu-gas-supplies-if-fined-under-due-diligence-law/)
Ireland has hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of reliably windy Atlantic Ocean to the west and north of it. However, so far there have been problems with floating wind turbines and the harsh Atlantic conditions. Most Irish wind turbines are in the calmer eastern seas of the island and fixed to the sea bed. However, there are currently three floating platforms under construction on the Atlantic coast 22 kilometers out. Turbines like these would supply the electricity to create hydrogen.
Sounds like a great idea. There’s also a whole lot of north sea. Plenty of room for wind farms.
Sounds like a dumb idea. Why not just pump the electrons directly to Germany via cables, saving all those energy conversion and storage losses?
Nuclear power plants could always be built too and then they could do the electrolysis all on their own.
Europe could make the switch to a hydrogen economy in a relatively straight forward way. And it could adopt hydrogen vehicles and not destroy its auto industry and not need to gauge billions of tons of material out of africa at great expense and environmental damage.
Tremendous idea…I’m surprised the UK hasn’t thought about it to replace the reliance on natural gas.