United Kingdom
Stand-off Detection of Hydrogen Concentration
Sep 2021
Publication
The ability to remotely monitor hydrogen and map its concentration is a pressing challenge in large scale production and distribution as well as other sectors such as nuclear storage. We present a photonicsbased approach for the stand-off sensing and mapping of hydrogen concentration capable of detecting and locating <0.1% concentrations at 100m distance. The technique identifies the wavelength of light resulting from interaction with laser pulses via Raman scattering and can identify a range of other gas species e.g. hydrocarbons ammonia by the spectroscopic analysis of the wavelengths present in the return signal. LIDAR Light Detection and Ranging – analogous to Radar is used for ranging. Laserbased techniques for the stand-off detection of hydrocarbons frequently employ absorption of light at specific wavelengths which are characteristic of the gas species. Unfortunately Hydrogen does not exhibit strong absorption however it does exhibit strong Raman scattering when excited in the UV wavelength range. Raman scattering is a comparatively weak effect. However the use of solid-state detectors capable of detecting single photons known as SPADS (Single Photon Avalanche Photodiode) enables the detection of low concentrations at range while making use of precise time-of-flight range location correlation. The initial safety case which necessitated our development of stand-off hydrogen sensing was the condition monitoring of stored nuclear waste supported and funded by Sellafield and the National Nuclear Laboratory in the UK. A deployable version of the device has been developed and hydrogen characterisation has been carried out in an active nuclear store. Prior to deployment a full ignition risk assessment was carried out. To the best of our knowledge this technique is the strongest candidate for the remote stand-off sensing of hydrogen.
Our Green Print: Future Heat for Everyone
Jul 2021
Publication
Green Print - Future Heat for Everyone draws together technical consumer and economic considerations to create a pioneering plan to transition 22 million UK homes to low carbon heat by 2050.<br/>Our Green Print underlines the scale of the challenge ahead acknowledging that a mosaic of low carbon heating solutions will be required to meet the needs of individual communities and setting out 12 key steps that can be taken now in order to get us there<br/>The Climate Change Committee (CCC) estimates an investment spend of £250bn to upgrade insulation and heating in homes as well as provide the infrastructure to deliver the energy.<br/>This is a task of unprecedented scale the equivalent of retro-fitting 67000 homes every month from now until 2050. In this Report Cadent takes the industry lead in addressing the challenge.
Delivering Clean Growth: CCUS Cost Challenge Taskforce Report
Jul 2018
Publication
An independent report by the CCUS Cost Challenge Taskforce setting out the industry’s view on how best to progress carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) in the UK in order to enable the UK to have the option of deploying CCUS at scale during the 2030s subject to costs coming down sufficiently.
Webinar to Launch New Hydrogen Economy - Hope or Hype?
Jun 2019
Publication
On 26 June the World Energy Council held a webinar presenting the results of its latest Innovation Insights Brief on hydrogen engaging three key experts on the topic:
Nigel Brandon Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Imperial College London
Craig Knight Director of Industrial Solutions Horizon Fuel Cell Technology
Dan Sadler H21 Project Manager for Equinor
During the webinar the experts answered a series of policy technical and safety questions from the audience. The webinar started with a poll to get a sense of which sectors attendees saw hydrogen playing a key role in 2040 - 77% chose industrial processes 54% mobility and 31% power generation. The questions ranged from the opportunities and limitations of blending hydrogen with natural gas to safety concerns surrounding hydrogen.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS:
How much hydrogen can be blended with natural gas depends on the rules and regulation of each country. The general consensus is that blending 10% by volume of hydrogen presents no safety concerns or specific difficulties. This would provide an opportunity to develop low hydrogen markets. Nevertheless blending should not be the end destination. It is not sufficient to meet carbon abatement targets.
Low carbon ammonia has a role to play in the new hydrogen economy. It is a proven and understood technology which is easier to move around the world and could be used directly as ammonia or cracked back into hydrogen.
One of the main focus today should be to replace grey hydrogen with green hydrogen in existing supply chains as there would be no efficiency losses in the process.
In China the push for hydrogen is transport-related. This is driven by air quality and energy independence concerns. In the next 10 years the full life cost of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) is expected to be lower than for internal combustion engines. This is due to the fact that FCEVs require less maintenance and that the residual value in the fuel cells is relatively high. At the end of life 95% of the platinum in fuel cells can be repurposed.
FCEVs should not be regarded as competing with battery electric vehicles they sit next to each other on product maps. FCEVs can benefit from the all of the advances in electric drive train systems and electric motors.
To close the webinar attendees were asked whether hydrogen was going through another hype cycle or if it was here to stay. 10% answered hype and 90% here to stay.
Nigel Brandon Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Imperial College London
Craig Knight Director of Industrial Solutions Horizon Fuel Cell Technology
Dan Sadler H21 Project Manager for Equinor
During the webinar the experts answered a series of policy technical and safety questions from the audience. The webinar started with a poll to get a sense of which sectors attendees saw hydrogen playing a key role in 2040 - 77% chose industrial processes 54% mobility and 31% power generation. The questions ranged from the opportunities and limitations of blending hydrogen with natural gas to safety concerns surrounding hydrogen.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS:
How much hydrogen can be blended with natural gas depends on the rules and regulation of each country. The general consensus is that blending 10% by volume of hydrogen presents no safety concerns or specific difficulties. This would provide an opportunity to develop low hydrogen markets. Nevertheless blending should not be the end destination. It is not sufficient to meet carbon abatement targets.
Low carbon ammonia has a role to play in the new hydrogen economy. It is a proven and understood technology which is easier to move around the world and could be used directly as ammonia or cracked back into hydrogen.
One of the main focus today should be to replace grey hydrogen with green hydrogen in existing supply chains as there would be no efficiency losses in the process.
In China the push for hydrogen is transport-related. This is driven by air quality and energy independence concerns. In the next 10 years the full life cost of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) is expected to be lower than for internal combustion engines. This is due to the fact that FCEVs require less maintenance and that the residual value in the fuel cells is relatively high. At the end of life 95% of the platinum in fuel cells can be repurposed.
FCEVs should not be regarded as competing with battery electric vehicles they sit next to each other on product maps. FCEVs can benefit from the all of the advances in electric drive train systems and electric motors.
To close the webinar attendees were asked whether hydrogen was going through another hype cycle or if it was here to stay. 10% answered hype and 90% here to stay.
Effect of Bipolar Plate Material on Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Performance
Mar 2022
Publication
Commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cells can only materials provided its performance is closely related to existing technologies useful in commercial application. Other critical parameters like the utilization of cheaper materials should be taken into account during the manufacturing of the cell. A key component in the cell that has direct correlation to the cell perfor‐ mance is the flow plate. The weight coupled with cost of the cell revolves around the flow plate used in the manufacturing of the cell. This study explores materials ideal for the manufacturing of fuel cells in order to improve the overall cell performance. The investigation highlights the critical impact of varying materials used in the manufacturing of flow plates for PEM fuel cells. Stainless steel (SS) aluminium (Al) and copper (Cu) were the materials considered. The flow plate designs considered were serpentine and open pore cellular foam channel. Machine learning using python for the validation of the results with Linear regression Ridge regression and Polynomial regression algorithm was carried out. The performance of both flow field channels was compared using dif‐ ferent bipolar plate materials. The results show that metal foam flow channels overall performance was better than serpentine flow channels with all the various bipolar plate material used and Al material outperformed Cu and SS material. There is a direct correlation in terms of the outcome of the study and literature based on the data generated experimentally. It can however be concluded that molecules of hydrogen are stable on aluminium plates compared to copper and stainless steel
Numerical Simulations of Atmospheric Dispersion of Large-scale Liquid Hydrogen Releases
Sep 2021
Publication
Numerical simulations have been conducted for LH2 massive releases and the subsequent atmospheric dispersion using an in-house modified version of the open source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code OpenFOAM. A conjugate heat transfer model has been added for heat transfer between the released LH2 and the ground. Appropriate interface boundary conditions are applied to ensure the continuities of temperature and heat fluxes. The significant temperature difference between the cryogenic hydrogen and the ground means that the released LH2 will instantly enter in a boiling state resulting in a hydrogen- air gaseous cloud which will initially behave like a dense gas. Numerical predictions have been conducted for the subsequent atmospheric dispersion of the vaporized LH2 for a series of release scenarios - with and without retention pits - to limit the horizontal spread of the LH2 on the ground. The considered cases included the instantaneous release of 1 10 and 50 tons of LH2 under neutral (D) and stable (F) weather conditions. More specifically 3F and 5D conditions were simulated with the former representing stable weather conditions under wind speed of 3 m/s at 10 m above the ground and the later corresponding to neutral weather conditions under 5 m/s wind speed (10 m above the ground). Specific numerical tests have also been conducted for selected scenarios under different ambient temperatures from 233 up to 313 K. According to the current study although the retention pit can extend the dispersion time it can significantly reduce the extent of hazards due to much smaller cloud size within both the flammability and explosion limits. While the former has negative impact on safety the later is beneficial. The use of retention pit should hence be considered with caution in practical applications.
Hydrogen-assisted Fatigue Crack Growth: Pre-charging vs In-situ Testing in Gaseous Environments
Mar 2023
Publication
We investigate the implications of conducting hydrogen-assisted fatigue crack growth experiments in a hydrogen gas environment (in-situ hydrogen charging) or in air (following exposure to hydrogen gas). The study is conducted on welded 42CrMo4 steel a primary candidate for the future hydrogen transport infrastructure allowing us to additionally gain insight into the differences in behavior between the base steel and the coarse grain heat affected zone. The results reveal significant differences between the two testing approaches and the two weld regions. The differences are particularly remarkable for the comparison of testing methodologies with fatigue crack growth rates being more than one order of magnitude higher over relevant loading regimes when the samples are tested in a hydrogen-containing environment relative to the pre-charged samples. Aided by finite element modelling and microscopy analysis these differences are discussed and rationalized. Independent of the testing approach the heat affected zone showed a higher susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement. Similar microstructural behavior is observed for both testing approaches with the base metal exhibiting martensite lath decohesion while the heat affected zone experienced both martensite lath decohesion and intergranular fracture.
Energy Innovation Needs Assessment: Heating Cooling
Nov 2019
Publication
The Energy Innovation Needs Assessment (EINA) aims to identify the key innovation needs across the UK’s energy system to inform the prioritisation of public sector investment in low-carbon innovation. Using an analytical methodology developed by the Department for Business Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) the EINA takes a systemlevel approach and values innovations in a technology in terms of the system-level benefits a technology innovation provides.1. This whole system modelling in line with BEIS’s EINA methodology was delivered by the Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) using the Energy System Modelling Environment (ESMETM) as the primary modelling tool.
To support the overall prioritisation of innovation activity the EINA process analyses key technologies in more detail. These technologies are grouped together into sub-themes according to the primary role they fulfil in the energy system. For key technologies within a sub-theme innovations and business opportunities are identified. The main findings at the technology level are summarised in sub-theme reports. An overview report will combine the findings from each sub-theme to provide a broad system-level perspective and prioritisation.
This EINA analysis is based on a combination of desk research by a consortium of economic and engineering consultants and stakeholder engagement. The prioritisation of innovation and business opportunities presented is informed by a workshop organised for each sub-theme assembling key stakeholders from the academic community industry and government.
This report was commissioned prior to advice being received from the CCC on meeting a net zero target and reflects priorities to meet the previous 80% target in 2050. The newly legislated net zero target is not expected to change the set of innovation priorities rather it will make them all more valuable overall. Further work is required to assess detailed implications.
To support the overall prioritisation of innovation activity the EINA process analyses key technologies in more detail. These technologies are grouped together into sub-themes according to the primary role they fulfil in the energy system. For key technologies within a sub-theme innovations and business opportunities are identified. The main findings at the technology level are summarised in sub-theme reports. An overview report will combine the findings from each sub-theme to provide a broad system-level perspective and prioritisation.
This EINA analysis is based on a combination of desk research by a consortium of economic and engineering consultants and stakeholder engagement. The prioritisation of innovation and business opportunities presented is informed by a workshop organised for each sub-theme assembling key stakeholders from the academic community industry and government.
This report was commissioned prior to advice being received from the CCC on meeting a net zero target and reflects priorities to meet the previous 80% target in 2050. The newly legislated net zero target is not expected to change the set of innovation priorities rather it will make them all more valuable overall. Further work is required to assess detailed implications.
Investigating the Implications of a New-build Hybrid Power System for Roll-on/Roll-off Cargo Ships from a Sustainability Perspective – A Life Cycle Assessment Case Study
Aug 2016
Publication
Marine transport has been essential for international trade. Concern for its environmental impact was growing among regulators classification societies ship operators ship owners and other stakeholders. By applying life cycle assessment this article aimed to assess the impact of a new-build hybrid system (i.e. an electric power system which incorporated lithium ion batteries photovoltaic systems and cold-ironing) designed for Roll-on/Roll-off cargo ships. The study was carried out based on a bottom-up integrated system approach using the optimised operational profile and background information for manufacturing processes mass breakdown and end of life management plans. Resources such as metallic and non-metallic materials and energy required for manufacture operation maintenance dismantling and scrap handling were estimated. During operation 1.76 x 10^8 kg of marine diesel oil was burned releasing carbon monoxide carbon dioxide particulate matter hydrocarbons nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide which ranged 5–8 orders of magnitude. The operation of diesel gensets was the primary cause of impact categories that were relevant to particulate matter or respiratory inorganic health issues photochemical ozone creation eutrophication acidification global warming and human toxicity. Disposing metallic scrap was accountable for the most significant impact category ecotoxicity potential. The environmental benefits of the hybrid power system in most impact categories were verified in comparison with a conventional power system onboard cargo ships. The estimated results for individual impact categories were verified using scenario analysis. The study concluded that the life cycle of a new-build hybrid power system would result in significant impact on the environment human beings and natural reserves and therefore proper management of such a system was imperative.
Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener
Oct 2021
Publication
Last year the Prime Minister set out his 10 point plan for a green industrial revolution laying the foundations for a green economic recovery from the impact of COVID-19 with the UK at the forefront of the growing global green economy.
This strategy builds on that approach to keep us on track for UK carbon budgets our 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution and net zero by 2050. It includes:
This strategy builds on that approach to keep us on track for UK carbon budgets our 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution and net zero by 2050. It includes:
- our decarbonisation pathways to net zero by 2050 including illustrative scenarios
- policies and proposals to reduce emissions for each sector
- cross-cutting action to support the transition.
Future Heat Series Part 1 - Pathways for Heat
Nov 2014
Publication
Together the pathways examined in the report paint a picture of the nationwide transformation getting underway in how we heat our homes and buildings. The report identifies that by 2050 gas used to heat buildings could fall by 75-95% electricity increase from a 10% share today to 30-80% and district heat increase from less than 2% to up to a 40% share. At the same time energy efficiency could help to lower bills and offset the expected growth in our heating needs from an expanding population and building stock. Across most pathways examined in the report mass deployment of low carbon heat solutions ramps up in the lead-in to 2030. Carbon Connect’s overarching recommendation is that the next decade should be spent preparing by developing a robust strategy for decarbonising heat in buildings whilst testing and scaling up delivery models. The report calls for the next Government to prioritise these preparations in the same way that preparing for power sector decarbonisation has been the overriding focus of energy policy in the past decade. The Future Heat Series brings together politicians policy and academic experts and industry leaders. Together this coalition of key figures is taking stock of evidence progressing the policy debate in an open and constructive forum and building consensus for prioritising and transforming heat. Pathways for Heat is the first part of the Future Heat Series and presents six recommendations and over twenty findings.
Overview of Current Development in Electrical Energy Storage Technologies and the Application Potential in Power System Operation
Oct 2014
Publication
Electrical power generation is changing dramatically across the world because of the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to introduce mixed energy sources. The power network faces great challenges in transmission and distribution to meet demand with unpredictable daily and seasonal variations. Electrical Energy Storage (EES) is recognized as underpinning technologies to have great potential in meeting these challenges whereby energy is stored in a certain state according to the technology used and is converted to electrical energy when needed. However the wide variety of options and complex characteristic matrices make it difficult to appraise a specific EES technology for a particular application. This paper intends to mitigate this problem by providing a comprehensive and clear picture of the state-of-the-art technologies available and where they would be suited for integration into a power generation and distribution system. The paper starts with an overview of the operation principles technical and economic performance features and the current research and development of important EES technologies sorted into six main categories based on the types of energy stored. Following this a comprehensive comparison and an application potential analysis of the reviewed technologies are presented.
Nuclear Cogeneration: Civil Nuclear Energy in a Low-carbon Future
Oct 2020
Publication
This policy briefing considers how the use of nuclear energy could be expanded to make the most of the energy produced and also to have the flexibility to complement an energy system with a growing input of intermittent renewable energy.<br/>What is nuclear cogeneration?<br/>Nuclear cogeneration is where the heat generated by a nuclear power station is used not only to generate electricity but to address some of the ‘difficult to decarbonise’ energy demands such as domestic heating and hydrogen production. It also enables a nuclear plant to be used more flexibly by switching between electricity generation and cogeneration applications.<br/>Applications for nuclear cogeneration<br/>Heat generated by civil nuclear reactors can be extracted at two different points for applications requiring either low-temperature or high-temperature heat. Each application differs in many aspects of operation and have different challenges.<br/>Low-temperature cogeneration<br/>Applications for the lower temperature ‘waste’ heat include:<br/>District heating<br/>Seawater desalination<br/>Low-temperature industrial process heating<br/>High-temperature cogeneration<br/>Higher temperature heat can be accessed earlier and used for:<br/>High-temperature industrial process heating<br/>Hydrogen production<br/>Sustainable synthetic fuel production<br/>Direct air capture<br/>Thermal energy storage<br/>Challenges of cogeneration systems<br/>Whilst some nuclear cogeneration applications have been employed in many countries the economic benefit of widescale nuclear cogeneration needs to be determined. However if the construction cost reductions for small modular reactors (SMRs) can be realised and the regulation and licencing processes streamlined then the additional revenue benefits of cogeneration could be material for SMRs and for the future of nuclear generation in the UK.<br/>Other outstanding issues include the ownership of reactors the future demand for hydrogen and other cogeneration products at a regional national and international level and the cost of carbon and dependable power.
Fuel Cell Power Systems for Maritime Applications: Progress and Perspectives
Jan 2021
Publication
Fuel cells as clean power sources are very attractive for the maritime sector which is committed to sustainability and reducing greenhouse gas and atmospheric pollutant emissions from ships. This paper presents a technological review on fuel cell power systems for maritime applications from the past two decades. The available fuels including hydrogen ammonia renewable methane and methanol for fuel cells under the context of sustainable maritime transportation and their pre-processing technologies are analyzed. Proton exchange membrane molten carbonate and solid oxide fuel cells are found to be the most promising options for maritime applications once energy efficiency power capacity and sensitivity to fuel impurities are considered. The types layouts and characteristics of fuel cell modules are summarized based on the existing applications in particular industrial or residential sectors. The various research and demonstration projects of fuel cell power systems in the maritime industry are reviewed and the challenges with regard to power capacity safety reliability durability operability and costs are analyzed. Currently power capacity costs and lifetime of the fuel cell stack are the primary barriers. Coupling with batteries modularization mass production and optimized operating and control strategies are all important pathways to improve the performance of fuel cell power systems.
Technical and Commercial Challenges of Proton-Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells
Dec 2020
Publication
This review critically evaluates the latest trends in fuel cell development for portable and stationary fuel cell applications and their integration into the automotive industry. Fast start-up high efficiency no toxic emissions into the atmosphere and good modularity are the key advantages of fuel cell applications. Despite the merits associated with fuel cells the high cost of the technology remains a key factor impeding its widespread commercialization. Therefore this review presents detailed information into the best operating conditions that yield maximum fuel cell performance. The paper recommends future research geared towards robust fuel cell geometry designs as this determines the cell losses and material characterization of the various cell components. When this is done properly it will support a total reduction in the cost of the cell which in effect will reduce the total cost of the system. Despite the strides made by the fuel cell research community there is a need for public sensitization as some people have reservations regarding the safety of the technology. This hurdle can be overcome if there is a well-documented risk assessment which also needs to be considered in future research activities.
Propulsion System Integration for a First-generation Hydrogen Civil Airliner?
May 2021
Publication
An unusual philosophical approach is proposed here to decarbonise larger civil aircraft that fly long ranges and consume a large fraction of civil aviation fuel. These inject an important amount of carbon emissions into the atmosphere and holistic decarbonising solutions must consider this sector. A philosophical–analytical investigation is reported here on the feasibility of an airliner family to fly over long ranges and assist in the elimination of carbon dioxide emissions from civil aviation. Backed by state-of-the-art correlations and engine performance integration analytical tools a family of large airliners is proposed based on the development and integration of the body of a very large two-deck four-engine airliner with the engines wings and flight control surfaces of a very long-range twin widebody jet. The proposal is for a derivative design and not a retrofit. This derivative design may enable a swifter entry to service. The main contribution of this study is a philosophical one: a carefully evaluated aircraft family that appears to have very good potential for first-generation hydrogen-fuelled airliners using gas turbine engines for propulsion. This family offers three variants: a 380-passenger aircraft with a range of 3300nm a 330-passenger aircraft with a range of 4800nm and a 230- passenger aircraft with a range of 5500nm. The latter range is crucially important because it permits travel from anywhere in the globe to anywhere else with only one stop. The jet engine of choice is a 450kN high-bypass turbofan.
Next for Net Zero Podcast: Transporting to a Greener World
Oct 2022
Publication
Decarbonisation will need a significant societal shift. The when why and how we travel is going to look very different within a decade. Joining us is Florentine Roy – a leading expert on electric vehicles and Innovation Project Lead at UK Power Networks and Matt Hindle - Head of Net Zero and Sustainability at Wales and West Utilities. Let’s talk about the energy system implications of this massive undertaking and how it can be enabled by innovation in a fair and just way.
The podcast can be found here.
The podcast can be found here.
Fuel Cells for Shipping: To Meet On-board Auxiliary Demand and Reduce Emissions
Feb 2021
Publication
The reduction of harmful emissions from the international shipping sector is necessary. On-board energy demand can be categorised as either: propulsion or auxiliary services. Auxiliary services contribute a significant proportion of energy demand with major loads including: compressors pumps and HVAC (heating ventilation and air-conditioning). Typically this demand is met using the same fuel source as the main propulsion (i.e. fossil fuels). This study has analysed whether emissions from large scale ships could feasibly be reduced by meeting auxiliary demand by installing a hydrogen fuel cell using data from an LNG tanker to develop a case study. Simulations have shown that for a capacity of 10 x 40ft containers of compressed hydrogen the optimal fuel cell size would be 3 MW and this could save 10600 MWh of fossil fuel use equivalent to 2343 t of CO2. Hence this could potentially decarbonise a significant proportion of shipping energy demand. Although there are some notable technical and commercial considerations such as fuel cell lifetime and capital expenditure requirements. Results imply that if auxiliary loads could be managed to avoid peaks in demand this could further increase the effectiveness of this concept.
Assessment of Hydrogen Fuel for Rotorcraft Applications
Jun 2022
Publication
This paper presents the application of a multidisciplinary approach for the preliminary design and evaluation of the potential improvements in performance and environmental impact through the utilization of compressed (CGH2) and liquefied (LH2) hydrogen fuel for a civil tilt-rotor modelled after the NASA XV-15. The methodology deployed comprises models for rotorcraft flight dynamics engine performance flight path analysis hydrogen tank and thermal management system sizing. Trade-offs between gravimetric efficiency energy consumption fuel burn CO2 emissions and cost are quantified and compared to the kerosene-fuelled rotorcraft. The analysis carried out suggests that for these vehicle scales gravimetric efficiencies of the order of 13% and 30% can be attained for compressed and liquid hydrogen storage respectively leading to reduced range capability relative to the baseline tilt-rotor by at least 40%. At mission level it is shown that the hydrogen-fuelled configurations result in increased energy consumption by at least 12% (LH2) and 5% (CGH2) but at the same time significantly reduced life-cycle carbon emissions compared to the kerosene counterpart. Although LH2 storage at cryogenic conditions has a higher gravimetric efficiency than CGH2 (at 700 bar) it is shown that for this class of rotorcraft the latter is more energy efficient when the thermal management system for fuel pressurization and heating prior to combustion is accounted for.
Optimising Onshore Wind with Energy Storage Considering Curtailment
May 2022
Publication
Operating energy storage alongside onshore wind can improve its economics whilst providing a pathway for otherwise curtailed generation. In this work we present a framework to evaluate the economic potential of onshore wind co-located with battery storage (BS) and a hydrogen electrolyser (HE). This model is applied to a case study in Great Britain using historic data and considering local network charges and the cost of using curtailed power capturing an often neglected element of competition. We use a Markov Chain to model wind curtailment and determine the optimised scheduling of the storage as we vary price parameters and storage sizing. Finally by considering storage CAPEX and comparing against the case with no storage we can determine the value added (or lost) by different sized BS and HE for an onshore wind owner as a function of power purchase agreement (PPA) and green hydrogen market price. Results show that value added increases when HE is increased and when BS is decreased. Additionally a 10 MW electrolysers uses 27% more curtailed wind than 10 MW BS.
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