The Government has published the National Hydrogen Strategy, its vision on the role that hydrogen will play in Ireland's energy system.
Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan said Ireland has the natural resources to become a "world leader" in the production of green energy.
"Hydrogen represents one of the best ways of capturing these resources," Minister Ryan said.
"If Ireland can harness the opportunities offered by renewable hydrogen, we can achieve our goals of a zero-carbon, secure energy system and potentially become an exporter to the emerging hydrogen markets establishing across Europe."
21 short-term actions have been identified within the strategy to enable the development of the hydrogen sector in Ireland.
"These actions aim to remove any barriers which could inhibit early hydrogen projects from progressing today, and to enhance our knowledge through targeted research and innovation across the hydrogen value chain, laying the groundwork to deliver on our long-term strategic vision for hydrogen in Ireland," Minister Ryan said.
Prior to 2030, hydrogen production will target grid-connected electrolysis from surplus renewables.
A 2GW target to produce renewable hydrogen sourced from offshore wind is also set to be in development by 2030, which the Government said will help to provide greater certainty for investors and create the scales needed to enable greater infrastructure deployment.
Wind Energy Ireland welcomed the publication of today's strategy.
Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, said Ireland's green hydrogen potential is enormous.
"Irish wind farms will generate the power we need to produce green hydrogen to help decarbonise sectors like aviation, shipping, heavy transport and to provide a secure source of renewable electricity for the grid," he said.
"Our members are already working to make this happen. We have the projects, the people and the expertise. This strategy gives the direction and the confidence we need to attract investment, to make Ireland a European leader in green hydrogen production," he added.
Gas Networks Ireland said today is an important milestone in the decarbonisation of Ireland's €2.7bn gas network.
"We are delighted that the national strategy acknowledges how the 14,664km national gas network can be leveraged to accommodate hydrogen produced from wind energy, as well recognising that in the interim, natural gas will continue to be needed to ensure continued security and resilience of Ireland’s energy," said Gas Networks Ireland's Director of Customer and Business Development, David Kelly.
"The gas network is Ireland’s hydrogen-ready infrastructure and reliable energy backbone which will continue to play a central role in the country’s future clean energy and hydrogen economies," he added.
Mr Kelly said the cost of repurposing the existing gas network to transport hydrogen is estimated to be 10-35% of the cost of building new dedicated hydrogen pipelines.
Bord Gáis Energy also welcomed the announcement.
The company, which was purchased by Centrica in 2014 is investing €300m in the construction of two hydrogen-capable power generation plants, which will it said be ready to support the grid at the end of 2024.
"At Bord Gáis Energy we plan to deploy our significant expertise in engineering, innovation, and energy to support these plans," said Emma Burrows, Legal, Regulation and Corporate Affairs Director at Bord Gáis Energy.
"Centrica’s UK trials in the hydrogen sector bring significant learning opportunities and have enabled our teams to identify the areas where this technology can be effectively implemented in Ireland," she added.
