Sizing and Modeling of a Microgrid for Integrated Production of Hydrogen

Abstract: With increased concerns on climate change, the upcoming hydrogen economy shows to be a promising alternative for many energetic challenges. As current equipment efficiency advances and new technologies arise, a frequently asked question is how to produce hydrogen from water electrolysis with lower costs and lower environmental impact. In the heart of Spanish innovation, the Polytechnic University of Catalunya (UPC) is building entire new facilities to study hydrogen technologies and to have its hydrogen feedstock produced on-site. This thesis has the goal to explore the state-of-the-art environment for realistic equipment available in the market for hydrogen production, putting together the design of a hydrogen micro-grid for the best techno-economic performance, as well as to design an energy management system (EMS) that brings clean hydrogen close to polluting alternative production methods. A power-flow model was developed taking into account local constraints and specifications to find the best configurations for a techno-economic analysis. While a grid-connected hydrogen productionis still more costly than the purchasing of retail hydrogen, the microgrid and EMS model suggested show interesting advantages in reliability and sustainability, with better future perspectives as electricity and equipment costs go down. Further work is needed to optimizethe EMS down to a component level, which could further improve with data collection from the microgrid once built.