Abstract
Today, the hydrogen is considered an essential element in speeding up the energy transition and generate important environmental benefits. Not all hydrogen is the same, though. The “green hydrogen”, which is produced using renewable energy and electrolysis to split water, is really and completely sustainable for stationary and mobile applications. This paper is focused on the techno-economic analysis of an on-site hydrogen refueling station (HRS) in which the green hydrogen production is assured by a PV plant that supplies electricity to an alkaline electrolyzer. The hydrogen is stored in low pressure tanks (200 bar) and then is compressed at 900 bar for refueling FCHVs by using the innovative technology of the ionic compressor. From technical point of view, the components of the HRS have been sized for assuring a maximum capacity of 450 kg/day. In particular, the PV plant (installed in the south of Italy) has a size of 8MWp and supplies an alkaline electrolyzer of 2.1 MW. A Li-ion battery system (size 3.5 MWh) is used to store the electricity surplus and the grid-connection of the PV plant allows to export the electricity excess that cannot be stored in the battery system. The economic analysis has been performed by estimating the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) that is an important economic indicator based on the evaluation of investment, operational & maintenance and replacement costs. Results highlighted that the proposed on-site configuration in which the green hydrogen production is assured, is characterized by a LCOH of 10.71 €/kg.
Highlights
The transition to a hydrogen-based mobility requires the development of an infrastructure that must be able to satisfy the hydrogen demand
When the electric power generated by the PV plant is in the range 25-100% of the electrolyzer rated power, hydrogen is produced and stored; when the produced electric power is greater than the electrolyzer rated power (>100%), the electricity surplus is stored in the battery or delivered to the grid
In order to define the hydrogen refueling station (HRS) economic feasibility, the analysis has been performed by estimating the Capital Expenditure (CAPEX), the Operational Expenditure (OPEX), the Replacement Expenditure (REPLEX), and by calculating the levelized cost of hydrogen LCOH that is the more important indicator among the economic evaluation indexes
Summary
The transition to a hydrogen-based mobility requires the development of an infrastructure that must be able to satisfy the hydrogen demand. Hydrogen refueling stations (HRSs) with on-site production from electric renewable energy sources (RES) are an interesting solution for assuring green hydrogen with zero CO2 emissions [1,2,3,4] The advantages achievable by adopting this solution are: i) increasing the share of electricity produced by renewable sources, ii) helping the integration of the fluctuating and non-programmable renewables (solar and wind) in the electric grid, iii) providing grid balancing services, iv) producing “green hydrogen” able to assure a sustainable mobility. Zhao and Brouwer [6] evaluated the feasibility of a selfsustained hydrogen refueling station, in which a proton exchange membrane electrolysis unit fed by renewable sources (wind and photovoltaic plants) produced the specified hydrogen amount. A techno-economic assessment of an on-site hydrogen refueling station, based on hybrid PV-battery system integrated with an alkaline electrolysis unit and sized for a maximum hydrogen production of 450 kg/day, has been performed. In order to evaluate the contribution of each plant section (production section and compression & dispensing section) to the LCOH, a detailed costs analysis has been carried and the LCOHs of the plant sections have been calculated
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