Lab Chemical Engineer Soltec Molina de Segura, Murcia, Spain
Description and Background: Green hydrogen produced by electrolyzers (ELYs) is called to be one of the key factors for the decarbonization of the economy enabling the sector coupling between the utility scale renewable energies plants along with the industrial and heavy-duty (HD) transportation sectors. Despite this, current levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) produced by electrolysis is about three to four times more expensive than its fossil counterpart.
In this work, a photovoltaic (PV) and ELY hybridization system is studied in three different steps. Firstly, theoretical, design and optimization criteria are exposed, along with the study variables. Secondly, numerical model of the designed hybrid system is obtained and evaluated with certified simulation software. Thirdly, a test bench of the designed system is assembled.
The objective achieved is the knowledge about the optimal sizing and variables regulation to reach the best performance of the PV-ELY system along with the lesser LCOH possible. The research of key factors as ELY Load Factor (LF), PV peak power/ELY nominal power ratio, and Energy Storage requirements, among others, will be a high added value when designing, operating, and scaling those systems.
