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NUI Galway seminar on ‘Decarbonising Ireland with Zero-Carbon Technologies’ to coincide with launch of €1.4 million Hydrogen Utilisation and Green Energy project 

NUI Galway will host a public seminar on ‘Decarbonising Ireland with Zero-Carbon Technologies’, presenting current activities in Ireland and abroad around the use of renewable hydrogen as a clean energy vector. Successful examples of small and large-scale installations will be presented by leading experts in the field along with breakthrough research. The event will be opened by Minister of State for the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Islands, Sean Kyne, TD on Tuesday, 16 July. 

In the last six months, hydrogen has experienced an exponential growth in interest with large car manufacturers and oil and gas companies among others, showing a clear shift on their investment strategies towards this chemical. Notwithstanding, hydrogen as a clean energy vector meets targets of a number of Sustainable Development Goals with a direct impact on climate change mitigation. Recently, Energia announced a €3 billion investment in renewable energy in Ireland with hydrogen being a key actor.

This seminar aims to bring together all stakeholders from the island of Ireland to discuss opportunities and challenges for the deployment of hydrogen technologies in rural and peripheral regions. This includes green hydrogen production through excess wind and/or solar energy use in transportation, power-to-gas, energy storage and gas for industries, among others. It will also look at low-carbon technologies for public infrastructure and housing. 

Dr Pau Farràs Costa, Energy Research Centre, Ryan Institute, NUI Galway, says: “The seminar is a stepping stone towards a wide dissemination to the public and stakeholders of the advantages of hydrogen as a fuel for the future, with direct implications for climate change, energy resilience and the development of jobs in rural communities.” 

The seminar includes presentations and open discussions with a panel of experts on: 

• Hydrogen developments in Iceland
• Northern Netherlands TSO2020 project, large-scale deployment.
• Haeolus project in Norway, hydrogen in extreme climate conditions.
• SEAFUEL project (Sustainable integration of renewable fuels in local transportation)
• GenComm project (GENerating energy secure COMMunities)
• Hylantic (Atlantic Network for Renewable Generation and Supply of Hydrogen to promote High Energy Efficiency)
• Feasibility study for wind-to-hydrogen for local transportation - bus fleet
• Hydrogen in Northern Ireland
• Hydrogen Mobility Ireland
• Launch of HydrogenIreland @Galway

The seminar will coincide with the kick-off meeting of the INTERREG Northern Periphery and Arctic project, HUGE (Hydrogen Utilisation and Green Energy). HUGE is a €1.4 million project led by The Environmental Research Institute with Dr Pau Farràs Costa at NUI Galway as partner. The project aims to provide communities with energy security by delivering to them the necessary tools to assess the hydrogen renewable energy chain opportunities in the Northern Periphery and Arctic area and beyond.

This seminar is also part of the knowledge transfer activities designed in HUGE to engage with potential stakeholders and communities at the different regions of the partnership. Galway and the west coast of Ireland is an excellent example of the huge potential for production and use of hydrogen as a clean energy vector. In the seminar, successful examples of hydrogen activities occurring in Europe will be showcased to demonstrate the viability to invest in the technology and the benefits it can bring to the region. Ireland is starting to play a key role that include the formation of the Hydrogen Ireland Association, which will be presented for the first time in Galway, as well as a presentation of the Hydrogen Mobility Ireland group, with clear targets for the deployment of hydrogen refuelling stations and vehicles in a short timeframe. The event will also see one of only the two hydrogen-fuelled cars in Ireland, a Toyota Mirai owned by Photonomi Group CEO, John Quinn.

The seminar is co-funded by the INTERREG Atlantic Area project SEAFUEL led by Dr Pau Farràs at NUI Galway. SEAFUEL targets the production and use of green hydrogen for local transportation in isolated territories, in particular islands. The project is looking at the Aran Islands as a key location for the technology, and aims to demonstrate the viability of hydrogen to be a key energy vector for the decarbonisation of the islands following their renewable energy targets (see www.seafuel.ie).

The free event will take place in the Institute for Lifecourse and Society, North Campus, NUI Galway on Tuesday, 16 July from 9.30pm to 3pm.

To register and attend this free event, visit: www.eventbrite.ie and enter ‘HUGE’ or ‘Decarbonising Ireland with Zero-Carbon Technologies’. To live stream the seminar, logon to: https://youtu.be/DAgTkI8sII0

For more information about the seminar contact, contact Dr Pau Farràs Costa, Ryan Institute, NUI Galway at pau.farras@nuigalway.ie or 091 492765.

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