Multi-objective optimization of a hydrogen supply chain for vehicle use including economic and financial risk metrics. A case study of Spain

Abstract

In this paper we present a decision-support tool to address the strategic planning of hydrogen supply chains for vehicle use under uncertainty in the operating costs of the network. Given a superstructure of alternatives that embeds a set of available technologies to produce, store and deliver hydrogen, the objective of our study is to determine the optimal design of the production-distribution network capable of fulfilling a predefined hydrogen demand. The design task is formulated as a multi-scenario mixed-integer linear programming problem (MILP) that decides on the production rates and expansions on capacity over time. The main novelty of the approach presented is that it allows controlling the variability of the economic performance of the hydrogen network at the design step in the space of uncertain parameters. This is accomplished by using a risk metric that is appended to the objective function as an additional criterion to be optimized. An efficient decomposition method is also presented in order to expedite the solution of the underlying mathematical model by exploiting its specific structure. The capabilities of the proposed modeling framework and solution strategy are illustrated through its application to a real case study based on Spain, for which valuable insights are obtained.