National Hydrogen Strategy progress lags

Progress on the National Hydrogen Strategy is lagging due to high energy prices, resource reprioritisation during Ireland’s EU Council Presidency, and the small size of the hydrogen unit within DCEE, Rory Monaghan, lecturer of energy systems engineering in mechanical engineering at the University of Galway, tells Ciaran Brennan.

Assessing progress under the strategy, published by DCEE in July 2023, Monaghan says: “We all would have liked to see the project be a bit faster. There have been factors beyond the control of the Department that have slowed things down a bit.”

He says high energy prices arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the US-Israel bombing of Iran since March 2026 have negatively impacted delivery. Monaghan says the State’s ongoing Presidency of the EU Council has taken significant resources and has led to a reprioritisation of objectives. Furthermore, he says the unit within DCEE dealing with hydrogen is “filled with extremely capable people”, but that it is “very small”.

The University of Galway lecturer asserts that it is an effective strategy as it prioritises green hydrogen to hard-to-abate sectors. Monaghan continues: “It has got an eye to the future in looking to hydrogen as a long-term energy store for Ireland for balancing a renewables and electricity system. It has also got an eye further to the future for energy exports for Ireland.

“But it is now about the execution of it, and we are starting to see that execution happen.”

Under the strategy, EirGrid published data sets on likely locations, volumes, and the load profile of surplus renewables on the electricity grid in March 2025. The State is also adhering to the EU Delegated Regulations which set rules for what is defined as renewable or low-carbon hydrogen in the internal market.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is also developing a pathway for decarbonising the electricity system after 2030. In line with this, DCEE tells Energy Ireland that SEAI’s Decarbonised Electricity System Study is to be published in Q4 2026.

The study will also provide the evidence base to define what technologies, including long-duration energy storage, are needed for a reliable and decarbonised energy system by 2050.

Monaghan identifies the establishment of the National Hydrogen Programme Taskforce in October 2025 as the most significant progress made under the strategy to date. The taskforce is to oversee delivery of the strategy.

He states that the delivery of the Early Hydrogen Innovation Fund is the next key step. This is an action under the strategy to provide co-funding supports for demonstration projects across the hydrogen value chain. In June 2026, Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O’Brien TD said DCEE is working to deliver the fund by 2027. Monaghan says that it is set to be launched “in the coming months”.

“It is a signal of the Government’s intent for funding projects on the ground,” says Monaghan. “This is going to be absolutely key in translating the fantastic ambition and fantastic prioritisation that is in the strategy into action.”