Abstract
The production of “green hydrogen” is currently one of the hottest topics in the field of renewable energy systems research. Hydrogen storage is also becoming more and more attractive as a flexible solution to mitigate the power fluctuations of solar energy systems. The most promising technology for electricity-to-hydrogen conversion, and vice versa, is the reversible solid-oxide cell (SOC). This device is still very expensive, but it exhibits excellent performance under dynamic operating conditions compared to the competing devices. This work presents the dynamic simulation of a prototypal renewable plant combining a 50 kW photovoltaic (PV) field with a 50 kW solid-oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) and a compressed hydrogen tank. The electricity is used to meet the energy demand of a dwelling located in the area of Campi Flegrei (Naples). The SOC efficiency is simulated by developing a mathematical model in MATLAB®. The model also calculates the cell operating temperature as a function of the input current. Once the optimal values of the operating parameters of the SOC are calculated, the model is integrated in the transient system simulation tool (TRNSYS) for dynamic analysis. Furthermore, this work presents a parametric analysis of the hydrogen storage system (HSS). The results of the energy and environmental analyses show that the proposed system can reach a primary energy saving by 70% and an amount of saved CO2 of 28 tons/year. Some possible future market scenarios are considered for the economic analysis. In the most realistic case, the optimal configuration shows a simple pay back lower than 10 years and a profit index of 46%.
Highlights
In recent years, more and more attention has been paid to the energy conversion issue.As a matter of fact, the effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on the climate are more alarming than ever [1]
The energy supplied to the grid is about 6.3% of the total energy provided by the PV field, whereas the energy withdrawn from the grid is 37.2% of the energy demand
This work proposes a dynamic simulation of a coupled photovoltaic–solid-oxide cell– hydrogen storage system developed in TRNSYS
Summary
More and more attention has been paid to the energy conversion issue.As a matter of fact, the effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on the climate are more alarming than ever [1]. As the demand for energy is ever increasing, the optimization of energy system is mandatory to address the climate change issue. Optimization of energy systems does mean replacing fossil sources with renewable ones, such as solar, wind, or geothermal. It means improving the distribution and the storage of the energy to improve the renewable energy well [2]. The use of suitable energy storage systems is mandatory to mitigate these fluctuations. The use of suitable energy storage systems allows one to avoid local grid overloading during the most irradiated or windy hours [4]
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