ESB and dCarbonX extend subsurface hydrogen storage collaboration in the UK

ESB and dCarbonX Ltd have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will allow the companies to evaluate and progress onshore large-scale subsurface hydrogen energy storage opportunities in the UK. dCarbonX is an affiliate of Snam.

This follows a joint venture announced by the companies in September 2022 to develop large-scale energy storage projects offshore Ireland.

As part of the agreement, ESB and dCarbonX will assess potential sites across the UK to support energy clusters, dedicated hydrogen networks, and ESB’s energy projects.

ESB has significant onshore (1.5 GW) and offshore (2 GW) wind energy portfolios in the development and planning stages and is exploring opportunities for the development of complementary onshore subsurface energy storage, with a particular focus on green hydrogen.

Tony O’Reilly stated, “We are delighted to expand our relationship with ESB into the UK which will allow us to leverage key learnings from our Irish projects in areas such as technology, business modeling, and operations. We see significant large-scale energy storage opportunities in the UK given its mature energy industry and favorable geology together with recent hydrogen policy developments. In addition, the success of the Crown Estate/ScotWind offshore wind auctions together with the development of net zero industrial clusters such as HyNet should further spur the production and storage of green hydrogen.”