Barrier identification, analysis and solutions of hydrogen energy storage application in multiple power scenarios based on improved DEMATAL-ISM approach

Abstract

China is ambitiously moving towards “carbon emission peak” and “carbon neutral” targets, and the power sector is in the vanguard. The coordination of power and hydrogen energy storage (HES) can improve energy utilization rate, promoting the deep decarbonization of power industry and realizing energy cascade utilization. However, limited by technology, cost, environment, society and other factors there are few application projects. Identifying major barriers and eliminating unimportant factors can make problem solving more efficient. Decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) combined with interpretative structural modeling (ISM) method is innovatively used to establish a barrier analysis framework for HES applied in multiple power scenarios. This method can show the direction and degree of the impact relationship between barriers and determine key ones, which is conducive to presenting targeted and effective solutions. Additionally, the interval type-2 fuzzy set (IT2FS) is introduced to reduce the distortion of evaluation information and ensure the rationality of analysis. Specifically, a comprehensive barrier system taking into account both commonalities and characteristics is established firstly. For different decision considerations, four typical power scenarios are screened to better illustrate how critical barriers play different roles in different scenarios. Then, the proposed analytical framework is applied to identify the key barriers in each scenario and find out the interlinking relationship among the barriers. The results suggest that technical barriers tend to dominate the fundamental barriers. Among that, immature hydrogen storage and transportation technology is a prevalent and fundamental barrier. Besides, high initial investment cost and high P2X conversion costs are crucial reasons that prevent relevant investors from entering the market. And inadequate policy has led to a poor environment for HES development. It's worth noting that, other key barriers focused on each scenario are not the same, and also are discussed in detail in this study. Finally, comprehensive solutions and policy suggestions to eliminate or reduce the barriers are presented.