Ireland – Hydrogen Utopia International has agreed to lease a 2.5 acre greenfield site in the 78-acre Fisherstown Energy Park in Fisherstown, County Longford, Ireland.
The first fully functioning HUI waste plastic to hydrogen facility in the European Union is expected to be built as a result of this.
A sizable share of the EU Just Transition Fund is expected to go to the Irish county of Longford. The Irish Midlands are where it is situated. The Irish government gave the Territorial Fair Transition Plan for Ireland and its related program the go-ahead on November 29, 2022, and the European Commission approved the plan on December 15, 2022. The program will support the Irish Midlands with €169 million from 2022 to 2027.
Existing infrastructure
Fisherstown Energy Park offers HUI the ability to utilize the neighboring waste water treatment facilities that were provided to a major denim manufacturing plant in addition to having its own electrical grid link and electrical substation. Because the costs to build such facilities are frequently very high, the use of existing infrastructure should result in significant construction cost savings when creating a plant.
A solar farm on the property may be used to power a HUI facility if permission to do so has been granted. The Longford County Council approved plans to build a stationary battery energy storage facility on the property in February 2023 as well. Fisherstown Energy Park is ideally close to the M4 and M6 roads, which provide access to Dublin and Galway, and has good road connectivity.
Permits applications
The fully owned Irish subsidiary of HUI has been granted a three-year option to purchase a 25-year lease of the site. HUI paid an option premium to the freeholder over the first twelve months of the option; the rest of the option period was covered by additional quarterly payments.
Working with its professional advisers in Ireland, HUI will start planning, environmental, and operational permits applications for the site as soon as it accepts and enters into the option, the draft lease of the site, and any applicable ancillary documentation.
