By Business & Finance 
ESB and dCarbonX have signed a joint venture agreement that will allow the companies to progress large-scale energy storage projects off the coast of Ireland.
Since Q2 2021, ESB and dCarbonX, (an affiliate of Snam, Europe’s largest gas storage provider and gas infrastructure company), have been working together in terms of the assessment and development of Irish offshore green hydrogen subsurface storage. The joint venture will focus on three specific green hydrogen storage opportunities based around proposed decarbonisation clusters – east of Dublin’s Poolbeg, west of ESB’s Green Atlantic at Moneypoint project supporting the Shannon Estuary cluster and south of Aghada in Cork, Project Kestrel.
Jim Dollard, ESB Executive Director, Generation and Trading, said of the joint venture:
“Mirroring the developments across Europe, ESB recognises the importance of large-scale energy storage and the role that green hydrogen will play in enabling a net zero future. This joint venture agreement provides an expanded platform to deliver key strategic integrated assets that can that help Ireland to meet its climate objectives, whilst also supporting energy security. We are delighted to be partnering with dCarbonX and Snam on these projects.”
Tony O’Reilly, dCarbonX CEO, said:
“The signing of this joint venture agreement with ESB is another crucial step in the development of large-scale energy storage solutions for Ireland. Working with the backing of our shareholder Snam, dCarbonX has already begun the assessment of suitable offshore reservoirs that can support the storage of hydrogen and hydrogen carriers. We look forward to progressing these opportunities with ESB.”
Green Hydrogen
ESB is committed to the future delivery of green hydrogen production and storage in Ireland to ultimately supplant the use of fossil fuels with Ireland’s significant wind resources providing a unique opportunity for the production of green hydrogen. Using a technique known as electrolysis, renewable electricity such as wind energy can be used to generate green hydrogen, which can be stored underground and used during periods of low wind energy production.
Essential Energy Storage
As Ireland’s largest energy provider, ESB is also committed to providing both a safe and secure energy supply to its c. 1.5 million customers. The development of green hydrogen storage capacity at scale will play a key role in a Net Zero future.
