Researchers discover Offgrid PV-driven hydrogen fuel cell system is superior to standalone solar-plus storage
August 20, 2024Fuel cells could be the cheaper option for energy and storage.
A team of researchers at the University of Applied Sciences in Germany compared an offgrid PV-electrolyzer fuel cell system with a standalone solar-plus-storage counterpart to see which one had better economic performance. The research, which was carried out in Niger, revealed that decentralized PV-driven hydrogen had lower levelized cost of energy and levelized cost of storage compared to the PV-battery system.
The study was conducted in Niamey, Niger.
The researchers deployed both systems in a two-storey academic building in Naimey, Niger. The building has 14 rooms, and the site’s annual average radiation is about 2000 kWh/m2. The building uses 75 lamps, 26 computers, 23 fans, 19 air conditioner units, 5 printers, 4 video projectors, 3 scanners, 2 refrigerators, 2 laptops, 2 copiers, 1 television, and 1 exterior lamp.
The PV-driven hydrogen fuel cell system is composed of a 150 kilowatt (kW) solar array, a 50 kW polymer exchange membrane (PEM) electroloyzer, a 20 kW fuel cell, a hydrogen tank with 50 kilogram (kg) total storage capacity, and a 5 kilowatt hour (kWh) battery covers small load throughout the night for practical purposes.
The researchers noted that the battery was fully charged daily prior to generating hydrogen to make certain that enough power would be available during the night. The amount of hydrogen that remained by the end of the day after the operation of the fuel cell was stored in tanks each day.
The economical analysis showed that the fuel cell system was the “optimal choice”.
The researchers compared the performance of this H2 system via a series of simulations, to a standalone solar-plus-storage equivalent composed of a 150 kW PV (photovoltaic) array, a 513 kWh battery storage and energy management systems. The scientists analyzed each systems’ overall cost structure, levelized cost of energy (LCOE), and levelized cost of storage (LCOS). Their analysis also considered the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) of the PV-electrolyzer-fuel cell system.
What their economical analysis revealed is that the hydrogen system is an “optimal choice” over the standard PV battery system, even though the H2 system has a slightly higher upfront cost. In their study, the researcher noted that while the standard battery storage system “supplies a slightly higher amount of electricity compared to hydrogen storage system, the difference is marginal compared to superior cost-effectiveness of hydrogen option.”
The findings concluded that the LCOE for the solar PV-electrolyzer fuel cell system is €0.12 ($0.13) /kWh, the LCOS is €0.35 ($0.39)/kWh, and LCOH are €8.21 ($9.10) /kg and €4.78 ($5.30) /kg (for electricity purchase case). Comparatively, for the standard PV battery system counterpart the LCOE is €0.17 ($0.19) /kWh and the LCOS is €0.71 ($0.79) /kWh.
Why the better performance?
It’s thought that the fuel cell system performed better due to the relatively high cost of the battery in the system throughout the project lifetime. The researchers believe that investing in hydrogen storage systems today could prove a more favorable choice as battery storage systems will face manufacturing challenges in the future. Such challenges can drive up cost.
Based on their findings, the researchers found that the “proposed system proves to be feasible for onsite installation.”
With over 15 years of reporting hydrogen news, we are your premier source for the latest updates and insights in hydrogen and renewable energy.
A great idea; any surplus hydrogen can be used to power heavy vehicles, but did the researchers count in the cost of suitable water that would not contaminated the PEM electrolyser?