Modelling and Control of a Grid-Connected RES-Hydrogen Hybrid Microgrid

Jonny Esteban Villa Londono,Harm Lok,Enrico Pons,Andrea Mazza,Ettore Bompard

doi:10.3390/en14061540

Jonny Esteban Villa Londono, Harm Lok + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/en14061540

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Abstract

This paper proposes a Hybrid Microgrid (HμG) model including distributed generation (DG) and a hydrogen-based storage system, controlled through a tailored control strategy. The HμG is composed of three DG units, two of them supplied by solar and wind sources, and the latter one based on the exploitation of theProton Exchange Membrane (PEM) technology. Furthermore, the system includes an alkaline electrolyser, which is used as a responsive load to balance the excess of Variable Renewable Energy Sources (VRES) production, and to produce the hydrogen that will be stored into the hydrogen tank and that will be used to supply the fuel cell in case of lack of generation. The main objectives of this work are to present a validated dynamic model for every component of the HμG and to provide a strategy to reduce as much as possible the power absorption from the grid by exploiting the VRES production. The alkaline electrolyser and PEM fuel cell models are validated through real measurements. The State of Charge (SoC) of the hydrogen tank is adjusted through an adaptive scheme. Furthermore, the designed supervisor power control allows reducing the power exchange and improving the system stability. Finally, a case, considering a summer load profile measured in an electrical substation of Politecnico di Torino, is presented. The results demonstrates the advantages of a hydrogen-based micro-grid, where the hydrogen is used as medium to store the energy produced by photovoltaic and wind systems, with the aim to improve the self-sufficiency of the system.

Highlights

During the last years, the number of research and development projects considering as main energy sources the so called Variable Renewable Energy Sources (VRES), such as photovoltaic (PV) and wind (WD), increased
This paper proposes a Hybrid Microgrid (HμG) model including distributed generation (DG) and a hydrogen-based storage system, controlled through a tailored control strategy
The system includes an alkaline electrolyser, which is used as a responsive load to balance the excess of Variable Renewable Energy Sources (VRES) production, and to produce the hydrogen that will be stored into the hydrogen tank and that will be used to supply the fuel cell in case of lack of generation

Summary

Introduction

The number of research and development projects considering as main energy sources the so called Variable Renewable Energy Sources (VRES), such as photovoltaic (PV) and wind (WD), increased. These projects are largely driven by government regulations. Two of the above mentioned processes (i.e., P2G and P2F) are based on the production of green hydrogen that can be successively converted in methane or liquid fuels by combining it with CO2. This cannot determine the solution of the CO2 emission. In China, the definition of the different types of hydrogen has been debated and a recent standard reports their characteristics, by defining low-carbon hydrogen, clean hydrogen and renewable hydrogen on the basis on their specific emission and the origin of the electricity [12]

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