Collaboration crucial to Energy System Integration

Following its publication by Engineers Ireland last week, I read the excellent ‘State of Ireland 2020’ report over the weekend. This report highlighted the crucial role for collaboration in providing solutions to Ireland's many challenges and included a case study on the remarkable success of the Covid-19 tracker app rollout.

Designed, developed, tested and rolled out within 3 months of inception, the app was downloaded over 1 million times within 36 hours of its official launch. This was achieved with an inspiring level of collaboration by the private sector, HSE, Department of Health, Government’s Chief Information Office and An Garda Siochana, all of whom played a role in building and testing the app. Politicians, media and most importantly the public also bought into its need in record numbers making it the most successful launch of a contact tracing app in the world. Such collaboration is crucial when addressing the many challenges facing Ireland, namely the continued battle to live with and recover from Covid-19, the multi-faceted challenges Brexit will bring, and perhaps most important of all, how we in Ireland will address climate change.

The State of Ireland 2020 report also detailed how Energy System Integration is needed for the delivery of a low-carbon, reliable and resource-efficient energy system at the least cost possible for society in Ireland. Energy system integration is defined as ‘the integrated planning and operation of the energy system ‘as a whole’, across multiple carriers, infrastructures and consumption sectors.’ The EU's Energy Integration strategy says that such integration is needed to deliver on climate neutrality, at the least cost, in line with Green Deal ambitions. . 

Through the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Amendment Bill 2020 Ireland committed to a climate neutral economy by 2050. To achieve this ambitious and necessary climate objective, we will need collaboration across Government, by energy utilities, by industry, within the private sector and public sectors, and with the general public at large.

As Minister Ryan said at the launch of the Bill, ‘this will require all sectors to change the way that they do business’.

There is much focus, and rightly so, on decarbonising electricity. However, electricity accounts for 19% of Ireland's energy needs today and EU forecasts it will be 50% by 2050. So we must also focus on decarbonising the non-electricity sectors. This is the sort of collaboration needed. To progress solutions in parallel, the gas and electricity sectors must work closely together. As highlighted in the the EU Hydrogen Strategy, hydrogen will play a key role. Hydrogen can decarbonise sectors that can’t be electrified. In fact, Hydrogen can also support renewables using excess electricity for hydrogen production at off peak

Critically of course, Energy System Integration will require collaborative engineering solutions which in turn can help Ireland achieve a green and digital recovery, driven by investments in infrastructure, technology and education.

At Engineer’s Ireland Annual Conference this week, I look forward to setting out how collaboration will play a key role in Energy System Integration. I will detail some of the solutions that we in Ervia are exploring to address climate change and deliver a net-zero energy system for Ireland.