Techno-economic assessment of green hydrogen production for steady supply to industrial users

The current study focuses on green hydrogen production, via electrolysis from solar energy, with the goal of providing for the needs of continuous processes in hard-to-abate sectors. Supplying a steady stream of hydrogen to an industrial user, starting from an intermittent and unpredictable renewable source, has proved to be challenging. Hence, the need for high-pressure storage and hydrogen compressor station. Dynamic operating concepts for the grid-connected electrolyser units are assessed in a realistic part-load range thus accounting for the energy imported and exported from the grid. An optimization procedure is implemented in TRNSYS to design the main components in the system while minimizing either the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH2) or the primary energy needs. Green hydrogen production appears as a viable solution to decarbonize the industrial sector, with a predicted cost ranging from 10 to 11.5 USD/kg in case of 40% and 100% renewable energy source, respectively.