Publications

Hybrid renewable hydrogen energy systems could play a key role in delivering sustainable solutions for enabling the Net Zero ambition; however the lack of exact computational modelling tools for sizing the integrated system components and simulating their real-world dynamic behaviour remains a key technical challenge against their widespread adoption. This paper addresses this challenge by developing a precise dynamic model that allows sizing the rated capacity of the hybrid system components and accurately simulating their real-world dynamic behaviour while considering effective energy management between the grid-integrated system components to ensure that the maximum possible proportion of energy demand is supplied from clean sources rather than the grid. The proposed hybrid system components involve a solar PV system electrolyser pressurised hydrogen storage tank and fuel cell. The developed hybrid system model incorporates a set of mathematical models for the individual system components. The developed precise dynamic model allows identifying the electrolyser’s real-world hydrogen production levels in response to the input intermittent solar energy production while also simulating the electrochemical behaviour of the fuel cell and precisely quantifying its real-world output power and hydrogen consumption in response to load demand variations. Using a university campus case study building in Scotland the effectiveness of the developed model has been assessed by benchmarking comparison between its results versus those obtained from a generic model in which the electrochemical characteristics of the electrolyser and fuel cell systems were not taken into consideration. Results from this comparison have demonstrated the potential of the developed model in simulating the real-world dynamic operation of hybrid solar hydrogen energy systems for grid-connected buildings while sizing the exact capacity of system components avoiding oversizing associated with underutilisation costs and inaccurate simulation.

The glass industry is part of the energy-intensive industry with most of the energy needed to melt the raw materials. To produce glass temperatures between 1000 and 1600 °C are necessary. Presently mostly fossil natural gas is the dominant energy source. As direct electrification is not always possible in this paper a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for specialty glass production is conducted where the conventional fossil-based reference process is compared to a hydrogen-fired furnace. This hydrogen can be produced on-site in an water electrolyzer using not only the hydrogen for the combustion but also the produced oxygen. Hydrogen can be produced alternatively off-site in a large scale electrolyzer to facilitate economy of scale. For the transport and distribution of this hydrogen different options are available. A rather new option are liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC) which bind the hydrogen in a chemical substance. However temperatures around 300 °C are necessary to separate the hydrogen from the LOHC after transport. At the glass trough waste heat is available at the required temperature level to facilitate the dehydrogenation. The comparison is completed by the production of off-site hydrogen transported to the glass trough as conventional liquefied hydrogen in cooling tanks by truck or in hydrogen pipelines. In this assessment to power the electrolyzers the national grid mix of Germany is used. A time frame from 2020 till 2050 and its changing energy system towards defossilisation is analyzed. Regarding climate change on-site hydrogen production causes the least impact for specialty glass production in 2050. However negative trade-offs for other environmental impact categories e.g. Metal depletion are recorded.

Green hydrogen is a key element that has the potential to play a critical role in the global pursuit of a resilient and sustainable future. However like other energy production methods hydrogen comes with challenges including high costs and safety concerns across its entire value chain. To overcome these low-cost productions are required along with a promised market. Offshore renewables have an enormous potential to facilitate green hydrogen production on a large scale. Their plummeting cost technological advances and rising cost of carbon pave a pathway where green hydrogen can be cost-competitive against fossil-fuel-based hydrogen. Offshore industries including oil and gas aquaculture and shipping are looking for cleaner energy solutions to decarbonize their systems/operations and can serve as a substantial market. Offshore industrial nexus moreover can assist the production storage and transmission of green hydrogen through infrastructure sharing and logistical support. The development of offshore green hydrogen production facilities is in its infancy and requires a deeper insight into the key elements that govern decision-making during their life-cycle. This includes the parameters that reflect the performance of hydrogen technology with technical socio-political financial and environmental considerations. Therefore this study provides critical insight into the influential factors discovered through a comprehensive analysis that governs the development of an offshore green hydrogen system. Insights are also fed into the requirements for modelling and analysis of these factors considering the synergy of hydrogen production with the offshore industries coastal hydrogen hub and onshore energy demand. The results of this critical review will assist the researchers and developers in establishing and executing an effective framework for offshore site selection in largely uncertain and hazardous ocean environments. Overall the study will facilitate the stakeholders and researchers in developing decision-making tools to ensure sustainable and safe offshore green hydrogen facilities.

This current article discusses the technoeconomics (TE) of hydrogen generation transportation compression and storage in the Australian context. The TE analysis is important and a prerequisite for investment decisions. This study selected the Australian context due to its huge potential in green hydrogen but the modelling is applicable to other parts of the world adjusting the price of electricity and other utilities. The hydrogen generation using the most mature alkaline electrolysis (AEL) technique was selected in the current study. The results show that increasing temperature from 50 to 90 ◦C and decreasing pressure from 13 to 5 bar help improve electrolyser performance though pressure has a minor effect. The selected range for performance parameters was based on the fundamental behaviour of water electrolysers supported with literature. The levelised cost of hydrogen (LCH2 ) was calculated for generation compression transportation and storage. However the majority of the LCH2 was for generation which was calculated based on CAPEX OPEX capital recovery factor hydrogen production rate and capacity factor. The LCH2 in 2023 was calculated to be 9.6 USD/kgH2 using a base-case solar electricity price of 65–38 USD/MWh. This LCH2 is expected to decrease to 6.5 and 3.4 USD/kgH2 by 2030 and 2040 respectively. The current LCH2 using wind energy was calculated to be 1.9 USD/kgH2 lower than that of solar-based electricity. The LCH2 using standalone wind electricity was calculated to be USD 5.3 and USD 2.9 in 2030 and 2040 respectively. The LCH2 predicted using a solar and wind mix (SWM) was estimated to be USD 3.2 compared to USD 9.6 and USD 7.7 using standalone solar and wind. The LCH2 under the best case was predicted to be USD 3.9 and USD 2.1 compared to USD 6.5 and USD 3.4 under base-case solar PV in 2030 and 2040 respectively. The best case SWM offers 33% lower LCH2 in 2023 which leads to 37% 39% and 42% lower LCH2 in 2030 2040 and 2050 respectively. The current results are overpredicted especially compared with CSIRO Australia due to the higher assumption of the renewable electricity price. Currently over two-thirds of the cost for the LCH2 is due to the price of electricity (i.e. wind and solar). Modelling suggests an overall reduction in the capital cost of AEL plants by about 50% in the 2030s. Due to the lower capacity factor (effective energy generation over maximum output) of renewable energy especially for solar plants a combined wind- and solar-based electrolysis plant was recommended which can increase the capacity factor by at least 33%. Results also suggest that besides generation at least an additional 1.5 USD/kgH2 for compression transportation and storage is required.

The steel sector currently accounts for 7% of global energy-related CO2 emissions and requires deep reform to disconnect from fossil fuels. Here we investigate the market competitiveness of one of the widely considered decarbonisation routes for primary steel production: green hydrogen-based direct reduction of iron ore followed by electric arc furnace steelmaking. Through analysing over 300 locations by combined use of optimisation and machine learning we show that competitive renewables-based steel production is located nearby the tropic of Capricorn and Cancer characterised by superior solar with supplementary onshore wind in addition to high-quality iron ore and low steelworker wages. If coking coal prices remain high fossil-free steel could attain competitiveness in favourable locations from 2030 further improving towards 2050. Large-scale implementation requires attention to the abundance of suitable iron ore and other resources such as land and water technical challenges associated with direct reduction and future supply chain configuration.

To meet the climate targets set forth in the International Maritime Organization’s Initial GHG Strategy the maritime transport sector needs to abandon the use of fossil-based bunker fuels and turn toward zero-carbon alternatives which emit zero or at most very low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions throughout their lifecycles. This report “The Potential of Zero-Carbon Bunker Fuels in Developing Countries” examines a range of zero-carbon bunker fuel options that are considered to be major contributors to shipping’s decarbonized future: biofuels hydrogen and ammonia and synthetic carbon-based fuels. The comparison shows that green ammonia and green hydrogen strike the most advantageous balance of favorable features due to their lifecycle GHG emissions broader environmental factors scalability economics and technical and safety implications. Furthermore the report finds that many countries including developing countries are very well positioned to become future suppliers of zero-carbon bunker fuels—namely ammonia and hydrogen. By embracing their potential these countries would be able to tap into an estimated $1+ trillion future fuel market while modernizing their own domestic energy and industrial infrastructure. However strategic policy interventions are needed to unlock these potentials.

This report illustrates what a reliable resilient decarbonised electricity supply system could look like in 2035 and the steps required to achieve it. It provides new insights and new advice on how such a system can be achieved by 2035 using real weather data and hourly analysis of Great Britain’s power system (Northern Ireland is part of the all-Ireland system). It also looks at the implications for hydrogen.

China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of hydrogen. The country has adopted a domestic strategy that targets significant growth in hydrogen consumption and production. Given the importance of hydrogen in the low-carbon energy transition it is critical to understand China’s hydrogen policies and their implementation as well as the extent to which these contribute to the country’s low-carbon goals.<br/>Existing research has focused on understanding policies and regulations in China and their implications for the country’s hydrogen prospects. This study aims to improve our understanding of central-government initiatives and look at how China’s hydrogen policies are implemented at the local level. The paper examines the three cities of Zhangjiakou (in China’s renewable-rich Hebei province) Datong (in the country’s coal-heartland of Shanxi province) and Chengdu which is rich in hydropower and natural gas. To be sure the three cities analysed in this paper do not cover all regional plans and initiatives but they offer a useful window into local hydrogen policy implementation. They also illustrate the major challenges facing green hydrogen as it moves beyond the narrow highly subsidized field of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs). Indeed costs as well as water land availability and technology continue to be constraints.<br/>The hydrogen policies and road maps reviewed in this paper offer numerous targets—often setting quantitative goals for FCVs hydrogen refuelling stations hydrogen supply chain revenue and new hydrogen technology companies—aligning with the view that hydrogen development is currently more of an industrial policy than a decarbonisation strategy. Indeed hydrogen’s potential to decarbonise sectors such as manufacturing and chemicals is of secondary importance if mentioned at all. But as the cities analysed here view hydrogen as part of their industrial programmes economic development and climate strategies support is likely to remain significant even as the specific incentive schemes will likely evolve.<br/>Given this local hydrogen development model rising demand for hydrogen in China could ultimately increase rather than decrease CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels in the short run. At the same time even though the central government’s hydrogen targets (as laid out in its 2022 policy documents) seem relatively conservative Chinese cities’ appetite for new sources of growth and the ability to fund various business models are worth watching.

In recent years growing interest has emerged in investigating the integration of energy storage and green hydrogen production systems with renewable energy generators. These integrated systems address uncertainties related to renewable resource availability and electricity prices mitigating profit loss caused by forecasting errors. This paper focuses on the operation of a hybrid farm (HF) combining an alkaline electrolyzer (AEL) and a battery energy storage system (BESS) with a wind turbine to form a comprehensive HF. The HF operates in both hydrogen and day-ahead electricity markets. A linear mathematical model is proposed to optimize energy management considering electrolyzer operation at partial loads and accounting for degradation costs while maintaining a straightforward formulation for power system optimization. Day-ahead market scheduling and real-time operation are formulated as a progressive mixed-integer linear program (MILP) extended to address uncertainties in wind speed and electricity prices through a two-stage stochastic optimization model. A bootstrap sampling strategy is introduced to enhance the stochastic model’s performance using the same sampled data. Results demonstrate how the strategies outperform traditional Monte Carlo and deterministic approaches in handling uncertainties increasing profits up to 4% per year. Additionally a simulation framework has been developed for validating this approach and conducting different case studies.

Molecular hydrogen (H2 ) is a low-molecular-weight non-polar and electrochemically neutral substance that acts as an effective antioxidant and cytoprotective agent with research into the effects of H2 incorporation into the food chain at various stages rapidly gaining momentum. H2 can be delivered throughout the food growth production delivery and storage systems in numerous ways including as a gas as hydrogen-rich water (HRW) or with hydrogen-donating food supplements such as calcium (Ca) or magnesium (Mg). In plants H2 can be exploited as a seedpriming agent during seed germination and planting during the latter stages of plant development and reproduction as a post-harvest treatment and as a food additive. Adding H2 during plant growth and developmental stages is noted to improve the yield and quality of plant produce through modulating antioxidant pathways and stimulating tolerance to such environmental stress factors as drought stress enhanced tolerance to herbicides (paraquat) and increased salinity and metal toxicity. The benefits of pre- and post-harvest application of H2 include reductions in natural senescence and microbial spoilage which contribute to extending the shelf-life of animal products fruits grains and vegetables. This review collates empirical findings pertaining to the use of H2 in the agri-food industry and evaluates the potential impact of this emerging technology.

One of the challenges associated with the use of hydrogen is its storage and transportation. Hydrogen pipelines are an essential infrastructure for transporting hydrogen from offshore production sites to onshore distribution centers. This paper presents an innovative analysis of the pressure drops velocity profile and levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) in various hydrogen transportation scenarios examining the influence of pipeline type (steel vs. composite) diameter and outlet pressure. The role of the compressor and the pipeline individually and together was assessed for 1000 and 100 tons of hydrogen. Notably the LCOH was highly sensitive to these parameters with the compressor contribution ranging between 21.52% and 85.11% and the pipeline’s share varying from 14.89% to 78.48%. The outflow pressure and diameter of the pipeline have a significant impact on the performance: when 1000 tons of hydrogen is transported the internal pressure drop ranges from 2 to 30 bar and the flow velocity can vary between 2 and 25 m/s. For equivalent hydrogen quantities the composite pipeline exhibits the same trends but with minor variations in the specific values.

With the growing demand for green technologies hydrogen energy devices such as Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells and water electrolysers have received accelerated developments. However the materials and manufacturing cost of these technologies are still relatively expensive which impedes their widespread commercialization. Additive Manufacturing (AM) commonly termed 3D Printing (3DP) with its advanced capabilities could be a potential pathway to solve the fabrication challenges of PEM parts. Herein in this paper the research studies on the novel AM fabrication methods of PEM components are thoroughly reviewed and analysed. The key performance properties such as corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement resistance of the additively manufactured materials in the PEM working environment are discussed to emphasise their reliability for the PEM systems. Additionally the major challenges and required future developments of AM technologies to unlock their full potential for PEM fabrication are identified. This paper provides insights from the latest research developments on the significance of advanced manufacturing technologies in developing sustainable energy systems to address the global energy challenges and climate change effects.

This comparative study examines the potential for green hydrogen production in Europe and the Middle East leveraging 3MWp solar and wind power plants. Experimental weather data from 2022 inform the selection of two representative cities namely Krakow Poland (Europe) and Diyala Iraq (Middle East). These cities are chosen as industrial–residential zones representing the respective regions’ characteristics. The research optimizes an alkaline water electrolyzer capacity in juxtaposition with the aforementioned power plants to maximize the green hydrogen output. Economic and environmental factors integral to green hydrogen production are assessed to identify the region offering the most advantageous conditions. The analysis reveals that the Middle East holds superior potential for green hydrogen production compared to Europe attributed to a higher prevalence of solar and wind resources coupled with reduced land and labor costs. Hydrogen production costs in Europe are found to range between USD 9.88 and USD 14.31 per kilogram in contrast to the Middle East where costs span from USD 6.54 to USD 12.66 per kilogram. Consequently the Middle East emerges as a more feasible region for green hydrogen production with the potential to curtail emissions enhance air quality and bolster energy security. The research findings highlight the advantages of the Middle East industrial–residential zone ‘Diyala’ and Europe industrial–residential zone ‘Krakow’ in terms of their potential for green hydrogen production.

This report from the WP5 “Mitigation” provides information and test results regarding perturbations that hydrogen could cause to gas appliances when blended to natural gas especially on anatural draught for exhaust fumes or acidity for the condensates. The important topic of on-site adjustment is also studied with test results on alternative technologies and proposals of mitigation approaches.

The cross-regional renewable hydrogen supply is significant for China to resolve the uneven distribution of renewable energy and decarbonize the transportation sector. Yet the economic comparison of various hydrogen supply routes remains obscure. This paper conducts a techno-economic analysis on six hydrogen supply routes for hydrogen refueling stations including gas-hydrogen tube-trailer gas-hydrogen pipeline liquid-hydrogen truck natural gas pipeline MeOH truck and NH3 truck. Furthermore the impacts of three critical factors are examined including electrolyzer selection transportation distance and electricity price. The results indicate that with a transport distance of 2000 km the natural gas pipeline route offers the lowest cost while the gas-hydrogen tube-trailer route is not economically feasible. The gas-hydrogen pipeline route shows outstanding cost competitiveness between 200 and 2000 km while it is greatly influenced by the utilization rate. The liquid-hydrogen truck route demonstrates great potential with the electricity price decreasing. This study may provide guidance for the development of the cross-regional renewable hydrogen supply for hydrogen refueling stations in China.

Several countries have revised their targets in recent years to reach net-zero CO2 emissions across all sectors by 2050 and the transport sector is responsible for a significant share of these emissions. This study compares possible pathways to decarbonise the transport sector through electrification including passenger cars light commercial vehicles and heavy commercial vehicles. To do so we explore 125 scenarios by varying the share of battery and hydrogen-based fuel cell electric vehicles in each of the three categories above independently. We further model the decarbonisation of the industrial hydrogen demand using electrolysers with hydrogen storage. To explore the potential role of electric and hydrogen transport as well as their trade-offs we use GRIMSEL an open-source sector coupling energy system model of Switzerland which includes the residential commercial industrial and transport sectors with four energy carriers namely electricity heat hot water and hydrogen. The total costs are minimised from a social planner perspective. We find that the full electrification of the transport sector could lead on average to a 12% increase in costs by 2050 and 1.3 MtCO2/year which represents a 90% CO2 emissions reduction for the whole sector. Second the transport energy self-sufficiency (i.e. the share of domestic electricity generation in final transport demand) may reach up to 50% for the scenarios with the largest share of battery electric vehicles mainly due to a smaller energy demand than with hydrogen vehicles. Third more than three quarters of the industrial hydrogen production is met by local photovoltaic electricity coupled with battery at minimum costs i.e. green hydrogen. Finally the use of hydrogen as an energy carrier to store electricity over a long period is not cost-optimal.

As a reformist approach to low-carbon transitions green hydrogen is often promoted as an easy replacement for fossil fuels. This substitution narrative makes this technology compelling as it offers to reduce emissions while continuing the contemporary energy system. Using ‘sociotechnical imaginaries’ this paper explores the underlying political processes on what appears to be a mostly technical vision of green hydrogen. Analysis through expert interviews in Aotearoa New Zealand revealed two contrasting energy visions one emphasizing the technical role of green hydrogen in New Zealand's transition—the green hydrogen imaginary and the other which advocated for a future motivated by social change—the alternative energy imaginary. Comparing the tensions through a lens of hydrogen justice exposed the assumptions and exclusions present in the emerging green hydrogen imaginary. This paper argues that the technocratic business as usual approach of green hydrogen depoliticizes the social nature of energy and thus risks perpetuating inequalities and harms present in the current energy system. However these critiques also suggest that there is hope for green hydrogen to be reimagined in more ethical and just ways.

Green hydrogen is likely to play an important role in meeting the net-zero targets of countries around the globe. One potential option for green hydrogen production is to run electrolysers directly from offshore wind turbines with no grid connection and hence no expensive cabling to shore. In this work an innovative proof of concept of a wind farm control methodology designed to reduce variability in wind farm active power output is presented. Smoothing the power supplied by the wind farm to the battery reduces the size and number of battery charge cycles and helps to increase battery lifetime. This work quantifies the impact of the wind farm control method on battery lifetime for wind farms of 1 4 9 and 16 wind turbines using suitable wind farm battery and electrolyser models. The work presented shows that wind farm control for smoothing wind farm power output could play a critical role in reducing the levelised cost of green hydrogen produced from wind farms with no grid connection by reducing the damaging load cycles on batteries in the system. Hence this work paves the way for the design and testing of a full implementation of the wind farm controller.

In this podcast David Ledesma engages in a conversation with Alex Patonia and Rahmat Poudineh on their recent paper focusing on hydrogen storage for a net-zero carbon future. The podcast delves into the various types of hydrogen storage options highlighting their relative strengths and drawbacks.

In order for a hydrogen economy to be established several key factors must be addressed including efficient and decarbonized production adequate transportation infrastructure and the deployment of suitable hydrogen storage facilities. However hydrogen presents unique challenges when it comes to storage and handling. Due to its extremely low volumetric energy density under ambient conditions hydrogen cannot be efficiently or economically stored without undergoing compression liquefaction or conversion into other more manageable substances.

At present there exist several hydrogen storage solutions at different levels of technology market and commercial readiness each with varying applications depending on specific circumstances.

Additionally the podcast explores the primary barriers that hinder investment in hydrogen storage and the essential components of a viable business model that can address the primary risks to which potential hydrogen storage investors are exposed.

The podcast can be found on their website.

A simulation tool called HYDRA to optimize individual hydrogen infrastructure layouts is presented. The different electrolyzer technologies namely proton exchange membrane electrolysis anion exchange membrane electrolysis alkaline electrolysis and solid oxide electrolysis as well as hydrogen storage possibilities are described in more detail and evaluated. To illustrate the application opportunities of HYDRA three project examples are discussed. The examples include central and decentral applications while taking the usage of hydrogen into account.

The need to reduce the dependency of chemicals on fossil fuels has recently motivated the adoption of renewable energies in those sectors. In addition due to a growing population the treatment and disposition of residual biomass from agricultural processes such as sugar cane and orange bagasse or even from human waste such as sewage sludge will be a challenge for the next generation. These residual biomasses can be an attractive alternative for the production of environmentally friendly fuels and make the economy more circular and efficient. However these raw materials have been hitherto widely used as fuel for boilers or disposed of in sanitary landfills losing their capacity to generate other by-products in addition to contributing to the emissions of gases that promote global warming. For this reason this work analyzes and optimizes the biomass-based routes of biochemical production (namely hydrogen and ammonia) using the gasification of residual biomasses. Moreover the capture of biogenic CO2 aims to reduce the environmental burden leading to negative emissions in the overall energy system. In this context the chemical plants were designed modeled and simulated using Aspen plus™ software. The energy integration and optimization were performed using the OSMOSE Lua Platform. The exergy destruction exergy efficiency and general balance of the CO2 emissions were evaluated. As a result the irreversibility generated by the gasification unit has a relevant influence on the exergy efficiency of the entire plant. On the other hand an overall negative emission balance of −5.95 kgCO2/kgH2 in the hydrogen production route and −1.615 kgCO2/kgNH3 in the ammonia production route can be achieved thus removing from the atmosphere 0.901 tCO2/tbiomass and 1.096 tCO2/tbiomass respectively.

In recent years sustainable development has become a challenge for many societies due to natural or other disruptive events which have disrupted economic environmental and energy infrastructure growth. Developing hydrogen energy infrastructure is crucial for sustainable development because of its numerous benefits over conventional energy sources. However the complexity of hydrogen energy infrastructure including production utilization and storage stages requires accounting for potential vulnerabilities. Therefore resilience needs to be considered along with sustainable development. This paper proposes a decision-making framework to evaluate the resilience of hydrogen energy infrastructure by integrating resilience indicators and sustainability contributing factors. A holistic taxonomy of resilience performance is first developed followed by a qualitative resilience assessment framework using a novel Intuitionistic fuzzy Weighted Influence Nonlinear Gauge System (IFWINGS). The results highlighted that Regulation and legislation Government preparation and Crisis response budget are the most critical resilience indicators in the understudy hydrogen energy infrastructure. A comparative case study demonstrates the practicality capability and effectiveness of the proposed approach. The results suggest that the proposed model can be used for resilience assessment in other areas.

The importance of hydrogen in the effort to decarbonize the power sector has grown immensely in recent years. Previous studies have investigated the effects of mixing hydrogen into natural gas for gas turbine combustors but limited studies have examined the resulting effects hydrogen addition has on the entire system. In this work a thermodynamic model of a gas turbine with combustion chemical kinetics integrated is created and the effects hydrogen addition (0-100 volume percent addition) has on the system performance emissions and combustion kinetics are analyzed. The maximum system performance is achieved when the maximum turbine inlet temperature is reached and the resulting optimal fuel/air equivalence ratio is determined. As hydrogen is added to the fuel mixture the optimal equivalence ratio shifts leaner causing non-linearity in emissions and system performance at optimal conditions. An analysis of variance is conducted and it is shown that isentropic efficiencies of the turbine and compressor influences the system performance the most out of any system parameter. While isentropic efficiencies of the turbine and compressor increase towards 100% an operating regime where the optimal system efficiency cannot be achieved is discovered due to the lower flammability limit of the fuel being reached. This can be overcome by mixing hydrogen into the fuel.

This paper introduces a Techno-Economic Assessment (TEA) on present and future scenarios of different energy storage technologies comprising hydrogen and batteries: Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Hydrogen Energy Storage System (H2ESS) and Hybrid Energy Storage System (HESS). These three configurations were assessed for different time horizons: 2019 2022 and 2030 under both on-grid and off-grid conditions. For 2030 a sensitivity analysis under different energy scenarios was performed covering other trends in on-grid electric consumption and prices CO2 taxation and the evolution of hydrogen technology prices from 2019 until 2030. The selected case study is the Research Park Zellik (RPZ) a CO2- neutral sustainable Local Energy Community (LEC) in Zellik Belgium. The software HOMER (Hybrid Optimisation Model for Electric Renewable) has been selected to design model and optimise the defined case study. The results showed that BESS was the most competitive when the electric grid was available among the three possible storage options. Additionally HESS was overall more competitive than H2ESS-only regardless of the grid connection mode. Finally as per HESS hydrogen was proved to play a complementary role when combined with batteries enhancing the flexibility of the microgrid and enabling deeper decarbonisation by reducing the electricity bought from the grid increasing renewable energy production and balancing toward an island operating mode.

The abundant hydro resources in Nepal have resulted in the generation of electricity almost exclusively from hydropower plants. Several hydropower plants are also currently under construction. There is no doubt that the surplus electricity will be significantly high in the coming years. Given the previous trend in electricity consumption it will be a challenge to maximize the use of surplus electricity. In this work the potential solutions to maximize the use of this surplus electricity have been analysed. Three approached are proposed: (i) increasing domestic electricity consumption by shifting the other energy use sectors to electricity (ii) cross-border export of electricity and (iii) conversion of electricity to hydrogen via electrolysis. The current state of energy demand and supply patterns in the country are presented. Future monthly demand forecasts and surplus electricity projections have been made. The hydrogen that can be produced with the surplus electricity via electrolysis is determined and an economic assessment is carried out for the produced hydrogen. The analysis of levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) under different scenarios resulted values ranging from 3.8 €/kg to 4.5 €/kg.