Feasibility Assessment into the Use of Hybrid Gas-hydride Tanks for Use in Improving the Flexibility of Offshore Hydrogen Production using Wind Power

Offshore hydrogen production offers a promising solution for harnessing wind energy far from shore by using hydrogen as an energy carrier instead of electrical cables. Flexibility in hydrogen production systems is crucial to maximising the conversion of intermittent wind energy into hydrogen. To improve the performance of lowpressure compressed gas buffer stores, hybrid gas-hydride tanks have been identified as a viable solution, increasing useable storage density from 1.2 kg m− 3 to 6.3 kg m− 3 with just a 5 vol% addition of hydride. This study evaluates the reduction in tank volume, reduction in cost, and enhancements in useable storage density achieved by integrating different hydrides under varying temperature conditions. Using hydrogen mass flow rate profiles, a storage mass target was determined for optimisation. The results demonstrate that hybrid gas-hydride tanks can reduce tank size by around 80 %, lowering costs by 24 %, and achieve a 5.1-fold improvement in useable storage density.