Modeling and Simulation of Hydrogen Energy Storage System for Power-to-gas and Gas-to-power Systems

Abstract

By collecting and organizing historical data and typical model characteristics, hydrogen energy storage system (HESS)-based power-to-gas (P2G) and gas-to-power systems are developed using Simulink. The energy transfer mechanisms and numerical modeling methods of the proposed systems are studied in detail. The proposed integrated HESS model covers the following system components: alkaline electrolyzer (AE), high-pressure hydrogen storage tank with compressor (CM & H2 tank), and proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack. The unit models in the HESS are established based on typical U-I curves and equivalent circuit models, which are used to analyze the operating characteristics and charging/discharging behaviors of a typical AE, an ideal CM & H2 tank, and a PEMFC stack. The validities of these models are simulated and verified in the MicroGrid system, which is equipped with a wind power generation system, a photovoltaic power generation system, and an auxiliary battery energy storage system (BESS) unit. Simulation results in MATLAB/Simulink show that electrolyzer stack, fuel cell stack and system integration model can operate in different cases. By testing the simulation results of the HESS under different working conditions, the hydrogen production flow, stack voltage, state of charge (SOC) of the BESS, state of hydrogen pressure (SOHP) of the HESS, and HESS energy flow paths are analyzed. The simulation results are consistent with expectations, showing that the integrated HESS model can effectively absorb wind and photovoltaic power. As the wind and photovoltaic power generations increase, the HESS current increases, thereby increasing the amount of hydrogen production to absorb the surplus power. The results show that the HESS responds faster than the traditional BESS in the microgrid, providing a solid theoretical foundation for later wind-photovoltaic-HESS-BESS integration.