ITM18 Nov 2020 08:34
London-listed hydrogen technology manufacturer ITM Power is eyeing opportunities in the Irish market as the Republic steps up its push on green energy.
ITM, whose partners include oil major Shell and industrial gas giant Linde, makes electrolysers, which uses electricity to split hydrogen from water, allowing the gas to be stored for use in transport and industry.
Graham Cooley, ITM’s chief executive, believes the increasing levels of wind-generated electricity that the Republic uses makes it very suitable for the production of green hydrogen.
“In general, I can tell you that we are interested in the Irish market for the production of green hydrogen,” he said, adding that Ireland’s “wind resources” made it a “fantastic” place for the production of the gas.
However, Mr Cooley added that ITM was not in a position to give details on any talks with players in the market here, as it was a quoted company.
The Republic, along with other EU countries must come up with a strategy to boost hydrogen’s use in the coming months. Mr Cooley predicted that investors would watch this “with interest”.
Electrolysis can use excess electricity, produced by wind and solar power generators during periods when it is not needed, to produce hydrogen, hence the description “green”.