(681f) Dynamic Modeling and Control of Renewable Hydrogen Production, Storage and Consumption for Grid and Transportation Operations

With the increasing penetration of renewable energy sources (e.g., solar and wind) into the electric grid, the intermittency and variability of solar/wind energy sources will lead to the frequent and steep ramping operation of conventional fossil fuel generation resulting in efficiency loss, increased equipment wear and tear, and higher maintenance cost [1]. Consequently, energy storage is attracting more attention for the reliable integration and utilization of renewable electricity.

Hydrogen production from renewable electrolysis can provide both short and long duration capacity as a controllable load to reduce grid fluctuations and improve the resilience of the energy system. The generated “green” hydrogen can be used for both stationary fuel cell and fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) applications. Electric utility companies can also blend the hydrogen with natural gas which is fed to existing combined cycle power plants (CCPP) [2]. Since the varied renewable supply and hydrogen consumption demand are mismatched in most cases, a hydrogen storage system is required. High pressure gaseous hydrogen storage for both stationary and mobile applications is the most popular and mature hydrogen storage technology due to technical simplicity, reliability, energy efficiency as well as affordability [3]. Although hydrogen electrolyzers, stationary fuel cells, and FCEV refueling stations have been extensively studied, few works have focused on an integrated hydrogen system for both grid and transportation operations. With this motivation, a complete system of renewable hydrogen production, compressed tank/vessel storage and flexible grid/transportation applications was developed. The dynamic performances of different hydrogen storage filling and releasing operations with electrolyzer, stationary fuel cell, FCEV refueling, and hydrogen/natural gas blend fueled CCPP show the feasibility and flexibility of the integrated hydrogen system.

A high-fidelity dynamic model (multi-scale mass/heat transfer coupled with electrochemical kinetics) of a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzer was developed for hydrogen production from photovoltaic (PV) electricity. The “green” hydrogen was stored in a large spherical storage vessel for different grid/transportation applications. The stationary fuel cell was considered for load peak shaving and CCPP dynamic model with hydrogen fuel (up to 30 vol%) was developed. In addition, a modular system for heavy-duty fuel cell trucks refueling (maximum pressure of 35 MPa) was designed and modeled with parallel multi-stage hydrogen compression and cascaded storage tanks. A non-adiabatic lumped dynamic model was developed for the storage tank/vessel with heat transfer from the tank/vessel to ambient air. The Soave-Redlich-Kwong equation of state was adopted to account for the non-ideal gas response of high-pressure gaseous hydrogen [4]. It was found that single modular system for FCEV refueling shows a service gap during hydrogen cascaded storage tank refilling, but multiple modular structure can be easily expanded and provide uninterrupted hydrogen for FCEV refueling.

The spherical storage vessel was optimally sized to satisfy the solar field and electrolyzer capacities of the integrated system. The hydrogen applications were ranked in the order of economic efficiency and then a sequence of operation was determined as FCEV refueling, stationary fuel cell peak shaving and CCPP hydrogen burning, respectively. The different hydrogen production and storage scenarios were implemented depending on the seasonal solar supply and varied grid/transportation applications. The hydrogen utilization strategies were proposed based on the technical and economic analysis of present solar penetrations and economics out to 2030 and 2050 future solar penetrations, economics and prices of hydrogen. The feasibility and flexibility of the solar energy integrated hydrogen production, storage and consumption for grid/transportation operation provides a transition to Net Zero Emissions.

[1] Wang, Y., Bhattacharyya, D., & Turton, R. (2021). Multiobjective Dynamic Optimization for Optimal Load-Following of Natural Gas Combined Cycle Power Plants under Stress Constraints. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 60(39), 14251-14270.

[2] https://www.hydrogenfwd.org/h2_spotlight/fpl-announces-cummins-to-supply...

[3] Li, Mengxiao, Yunfeng Bai, Caizhi Zhang, Yuxi Song, Shangfeng Jiang, Didier Grouset, and Mingjun Zhang. "Review on the research of hydrogen storage system fast refueling in fuel cell vehicle." International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 44, no. 21 (2019): 10677-10693.

[4] Xiao, Lei, Jianye Chen, Yimei Wu, Wei Zhang, Jianjun Ye, Shuangquan Shao, and Junlong Xie. "Effects of pressure levels in three-cascade storage system on the overall energy consumption in the hydrogen refueling station." International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 46, no. 61 (2021): 31334-31345.