ESB and dCarbonX have formed a joint venture to advance large-scale energy storage projects off the coast of Ireland.
Since the second quarter of 2021, ESB has been collaborating with dCarbonX, a subsidiary of Snam, Europe’s leading gas storage supplier and gas infrastructure company, on the evaluation and development of green hydrogen underground storage in Irish offshore waters.
The two companies, ESB and dCarbonX, are committed to actively exploring and developing opportunities to build large-scale storage capacity off the coast of Ireland. The three proposed decarbonization clusters that the joint venture will target are located to the east in Dublin’s Poolbeg, to the west in ESB’s Green Atlantic at Moneypoint project supporting the Shannon Estuary cluster, and to the south in Aghada, Cork. The decommissioned gas reservoirs at the Kinsale Head field will be repurposed for green hydrogen storage as part of Project Kestrel.
Jim Dollard, ESB Executive Director, Generation and Trading, said: “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.”
