Irving Oil, Simply Blue have plans for e-fuels production at Irish refinery

Ireland-based floating wind developer Simply Blue Group and family-owned energy firm Irving Oil want to develop together an integrated renewable energy hub at Ireland's only refinery.

The companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under which they will explore “a series of opportunities” for green energy at the Irving Oil Whitegate Refinery, among which is the production of renewable hydrogen and electrofuels (e-fuels) for the local market and for export.

Earlier this year, Simply Blue said it was looking to pair the production of e-fuels with floating offshore wind. The firm has more than 10 GW of floating offshore wind projects in the pipeline, mainly in Ireland and the UK, and sees an opportunity in using the future green energy capacity at sea to power large-scale onshore e-fuel plants. Its planned Emerald Floating Wind project is located roughly 50 km south of Cork.

"The concept of integrating large-scale floating offshore wind farms with large onshore e-Fuel production facilities offers many advantages and this will provide Ireland with a significant opportunity to become an energy export economy,” Simply Blue CEO Sam Roch Perks said in a press release yesterday.

Irving Oil aims to cut the greenhouse gas emissions from its operations by 30% by 2030 and is working towards a net-zero goal by 2050. The collaboration with Simply Blue could bring significant emissions reduction opportunities for the Whitegate refinery operations and a new product for the “evolving customer demands and energy policy” in the EU.

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