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Hydrogen is widely used in many industries, yet its role in the clean energy transition goes beyond being an element of these industries. Near-term practical large-scale clean hydrogen production can be made available by involving nuclear, solar, and other renewable energy sources in the process of hydrogen production, and coupling their energy systems to sustainable carbon-free hydrogen technologies. This requires further investigation and assessment of the different alternatives to achieve clean hydrogen using these pathways. This paper assesses the technoeconomics of promising hydrogen technologies that can be coupled to nuclear and solar energy systems for large-scale hydrogen production. It also provides an overview of the design, status and advances of these technologies.

Hydrogen is regarded as a key component of future low-carbon energy systems. Yet, for the implementation of hydrogen technologies on a large scale it is necessary to consider social acceptance. Studies on acceptance of hydrogen technologies have resulted in neutral to positive evaluations. This paper extends previous studies by focusing on large-scale hydrogen infrastructure. Within the project ELEGANCY, quantitative data on the acceptance was gathered among the German population. The results confirm the positive perception of hydrogen on a general level. However, the high level of acceptance is decreasing when it comes to infrastructure implementation in the own neighbourhood. In this paper, the gap between acceptance of hydrogen technology on a general level and the level of its infrastructural implementation is analysed, focusing on new pipeline infrastructure. The results show that sociodemographic factors, especially the variable age, as well as project-related factors, especially trust in stakeholders, have a high explanatory power.

Today, in the global economy, characterized by a growing awareness of environmental issue, the life cycle costing analysis (LCCA) is receiving increasing attention in various sectors. This is a critical task for modern businesses. In fact, the procurement decisions for many products are made on their life cycle costs. In this context, the hydrogen technologies play an important role. Actually, even though they have been known for a long time, aspects of system analysis, energy economics, and ecology received much less attention. For those reasons, the aim of this work is twofold. First, this study aims to contribute to the development of a comprehensive study on LCCA of hydrogen energy technologies. Second, it aims to propose a simple framework, called “ABC” analysis based on life cycle cost approach and multicriteria decision analysis useful to carry out an integrated analysis to compare different results and to balance economic data.

The potential role of hydrogen as a tool for the decarbonization of the energy sector is widely recognized. In this paper, a comprehensive analysis of the marginal utility of increasing the hydrogen penetration on the energy and environmental performances of a multi-energy system is developed to assess its potential. A distributed energy system satisfying the energy requirements for an existing building is chosen as test case, assumed as representative of a wide set of applications. Starting from real energy consumption profiles, representative scenarios and optimized design configurations are defined using a methodology that takes into account uncertainties both in demand and renewable production profiles and in techno-economic parameters assumptions. For each multi energy system configuration, an optimal dispatch control strategy is achieved through a mixed-integer linear programming method to maximize the building self-independence from the grid. Results show how an increase of hydrogen technologies penetration allows a reduction of the specific carbon footprint of the system down to 100 grCO2/kWh while increasing the system resilience up to 85%. Detailed information about the marginal effect of H2 technologies on resilience, carbon footprint, and fossil energy savings are presented and can be used for extensions to similar applications.

Nowadays, hydrogen technologies like fuel cells (FC) and electrolyzers, as well as rechargeable batteries (RBs) are receiving much attention at the top world economies, with public funding and private investments of multi-billion Euros over the next 10 years. Along with these technologies, electrochemical capacitors (ECs) are expanding rapidly in the energy storage market. Electrolyzers, RBs, FCs and ECs are electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices offering environmental and sustainable advantages over fossil fuel-based system. This overview discusses current trends in these electrochemical systems. It also examines recent advances on the CO2 reduction reaction, which has gained attention because of the capability of producing value-added chemical products at high efficiencies from the main greenhouse gas in the USA and the European Union. It is expected that these green systems will play a key role in the imminent implementation of a global sustainable energy scenario.

The intention to preserve a comfort habitat for the mankind finds expression in the attempts to decrease the anthropogenic impact on the environment. A concept “carbon footprint” appeared, which reflects input of some kind of activity to the environment pollution. The desire to influence producers’ behavior and make them decrease their carbon footprint under existing conditions results in elaboration new kinds of taxes and duties, stimulating modernization of technological process and decrease of harmful substances emissions. It is expected that in case of the taxes being implemented by big metal products consumers, such as Western Europe, will result in considerable change of the metal products market. An analysis of various ways of metal producers’ adaptation to operation in conditions of the expected changes presented. It was shown that such organization measures as lobbying of interests and artificial differentiation of business on provisionally “clean” and “dirty” will result in a rather restricted result. Thereupon actuality of a radical modernization of production capacities to decarbonize the technologies of steel production grows. Replacement of the carbon by hydrogen for reducing of iron oxides is the most advanced technological solution. At the same time, the hydrogen metallurgy is not yet implemented anywhere on industrial scale, and the hydrogen application in the production cycle results in a lot of questions, having not yet definite answers. A SWOT-analysis presented, demonstrating advantages and disadvantages of hydrogen technology mastering by metals producers.

Traditionally, the determination of static load characteristics is one of the main stages in the preparation of a design model of an electric power system. It is especially important to correctly take into account energy-intensive industries, which make a huge contribution to the formation of these characteristics. In particular, the increased interest in hydrogen technologies observed in the world as one of the most promising high-tech areas of energy development, and an increase in the share of the installed capacity of generation units based on renewable energy sources determine the prospects for the development of hydrogen production by water electrolysis. Accordingly, a significant increase in the scale of application of hydrogen technologies, in particular, in accordance with the “Hydrogen Strategy for Climatically Neutral Europe”, the European Commission for the production of “green” hydrogen, determines the task of forming correct mathematical models of these devices in terms planning of modes, analyzing their impact on the parameters of electric power systems. Determination of static load characteristics on the basis of a physical experiment will not allow obtaining a characteristic with a significant increase or decrease in voltage in the node of the electric power system, which occur only in emergency modes of operation of the power system. Therefore, it seems relevant to analyze and determine the electrical characteristics of consumers by mathematical modeling of the power circuit. This article presents the results of correcting the static load characteristic of a high-power electrolyzer used in the production of hydrogen. The analysis of these results obtained with the MATLAB software is carried out using least squares regression to procure polynomial functions of the static load characteristics. According to this analysis, the static characteristics of the considered electrolyzer, being close to linear within the control range, outside the control range acquire parabolic dependences of active and reactive power on voltage. The static load characteristics of the installation are determined by the parameters of the power circuit and the current-voltage characteristic of the rectifiers displacing the vertices of the parabolas from the origin, which should be taken into account to increase the reliability of the design scheme.

У статті проаналізовано публікації з використання водневих технологій, спрямованих на залучення відновлюваних джерел енергії в інфраструктуру енерготехнологічних комплексів, а саме для автономного енергозабезпечення невеликих споживачів на віддалених територіях. Потенціал використання сонячної та вітрової енергії в Україні є достатньо високим для широкого впровадження в енергетичні системи. При експлуатації автономних енергетичних комплексів на основі відновлюваних джерел енергії, таких як сонячна та вітрова енергія, можливе виникнення позаштатних ситуацій, обумовлених припиненням енергопостачання внаслідок мінливості енергонадходження або аварійним виходом з ладу окремих елементів енергокомплексу. Тому для забезпечення безперебійним електропостачанням автономного приватного споживача необхідно передбачати додаткові системи вирівнювання енергонадходження. Використання технології перетворення енергії від первинних джерел із застосуванням електролізної установки, металогідридної системи акумулювання водню та паливної комірки дасть змогу вирішити не тільки проблему згладжування нерівномірності надходження енергії від відновлюваних джерел енергії, а ще й зменшити екологічне навантаження на навколишнє середовище України. Проведений аналіз існуючих типів електролізерів показав, що водневі технології, які реалізуються в електролізних установках, розроблених в Інституті проблем машинобудування ім. А.М. Підгорного Національної академії наук України дозволяють виробляти і накопичувати водень під високим тиском (до 20 МПа), що виключає використання компресорної техніки. Застосування водню в паливних комірках дозволяє створювати ефективні системи автономного енергозабезпечення приватних споживачів. Найперспективнішими для автономних споживачів є енергоустановки потужністю від 1 до 20 кВт на основі низькотемпературних лужних паливних комірок, які характеризуються високим ККД, екологічною чистотою та безшумністю в роботі. Аналіз публікацій показав, що для забезпечення живленням паливних комірок найбільш компактним, безпечним та екологічним способом є використання металогідридних акумуляторів високочистого водню багаторазової дії в складі енергетичного комплексу, що відповідає вимогам розміщення автономних систем енергозабезпечення. Бібл. 31, табл. 3, рис. 5.

This paper presents the results of a systematic review that analysed the literature on factors influencing societal acceptance and stakeholders’ perceptions of hydrogen related technologies. This study found that the most influencing factors include prior knowledge, perceived cost/risks, environmental knowledge, higher education and income, personal and distributive benefits, infrastructure availability and close proximity to hydrogen facilities. There was low hydrogen awareness in more than 60% of the countries analysed in the reviewed studies. Although stakeholders had diverse perceptions, there was agreement that infrastructure availability, affordability, local community engagement, regional skill capability development, preservation of biodiversity, and safety and distributive benefits to the community were essential for a successful hydrogen industry. Future research could examine consumer acceptance at different geographical scales, analyse pre-and post-hydrogen project implementation, and social impact of hydrogen infrastructure on local communities. We also recommend diversifying hydrogen research projects and investigating the policy and regulatory arrangements for community-owned hydrogen projects.

Interest in hydrogen-powered rail vehicles has gradually increased worldwide over recent decades due to the global pressure on reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, technology availability, and multiple options of power supply. In the past, research and development have been primarily focusing on light rail and regional trains, but the interest in hydrogen-powered freight and heavy haul trains is also growing. The review shows that some technical feasibility has been demonstrated from the research and experiments on proof-of-concept designs. Several rail vehicles powered by hydrogen either are currently operating or are the subject of experimental programmes. The paper identifies that fuel cell technology is well developed and has obvious application in providing electrical traction power, while hydrogen combustion in traditional IC engines and gas turbines is not yet well developed. The need for on-board energy storage is discussed along with the benefits of energy management and control systems.

The central aim of this paper is to provide an up-to-date snapshot of hybrid and hydrogen technology-related developments and activities in the North American heavy haul railway setting, placed in the context of the transportation industry more broadly. An overview of relevant alternative propulsion technologies is provided, including a discussion of applicability to the transportation sector in general and heavy haul freight rail specifically. This is followed by a discussion of current developments and research in alternative and blended fuels, discussed again in both general and specific settings. Key factors and technical considerations for heavy haul applications are reviewed, followed by a discussion of non-technical and human factors that motivate a move toward clean energy in North American Heavy Haul systems. Finally, current project activities are described to provide a clear understanding of both the status and trajectory of hybrid and hydrogen technologies in the established context.

Policy intervention is essential for enabling energy decarbonisation, and historic examples such as wind and solar power show how well-designed policy can lead to long term system benefits. Hydrogen technologies are emerging technologies that, with sufficient policy support, can also become established and provide valuable energy services. In this study, the policies available for supporting emerging energy technologies and encouraging system decarbonisation are analysed, and their relevance to hydrogen technologies is considered. Value chain optimisation is used to assess the effectiveness of these policies in a system undergoing transition to net-zero emissions. The optimisation results show that both carbon budgets and carbon taxation approaches can be effective in achieving net-zero emissions, but that the details of the policy design can significantly influence overall costs and emissions. The results also show that in a net-zero energy system, hydrogen technologies have a role in industry without needing specific policy support, but policy intervention is needed for hydrogen to become established in other sectors (such as domestic and commercial heating). Both feed-in tariffs and obligations for hydrogen injection were found to be effective at increasing hydrogen uptake, although with an increase in overall system cost of £11–14 for each additional MWh of hydrogen in the system. This study shows the benefits of using value chain optimisation to analyse energy policies and technologies. It also emphasises the importance of careful policy design in order to achieve the best overall system outcomes.

This publication provides a brief overview of the materials of developments in promising areas of hydrogen energy and hydrogen technologies carried out by scientists and specialists at the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", in particular: - plasma, plasma-chemical, beam technologies, hydrogen energy technologies to ensure environmental safety and environmental protection, including:methods and technologies based on plasma-chemical processes for the processing and synthesis of organic compounds, modeling of plasma and plasma-chemical processes;development of plasma-melt technologies for gasification of solid organic raw materials, • development of a plasmatron complex for waste processing;elements of hydrogen (atomic-hydrogen) energy, including plasma ones, which ensure an increase in energy efficiency and environmental safety in energy (including renewable energy) in transport; • plasma catalytic systems for the conversion of organic fuels;fuel cells and electrolytic cells with solid polymer electrolyte; • membrane and membrane catalytic systems for hydrogen production and purification;nanostructured electrocatalysts;ensuring hydrogen safety.The Kurchatov Institute is the founder and undisputed leader and coordinator of research and development in our country in a number of key areas of hydrogen energy.

THE PURPOSE. Consider the use of hydrogen technologies in energy. The total production of hydrogen in Russia is about 5 million tons with a global consumption of 72 million tons. However, in the case of toughening of carbon regulation by importers of Russian products, the production of hydrogen in the Russian Federation may double. The roadmap «Development of hydrogen energy in Russia» stipulates that Gazprom and Rosatom will become the first hydrogen producers in the country - in 2024 they should launch pilot hydrogen plants, including at nuclear power plants. METHODS. To realize the potential in the country and achieve the goals laid down in the Energy Strategy, the departments have prepared a special action plan (roadmap) for the development of hydrogen energy in Russia until 2024, which was approved by Russian government on October 12, 2020. The main goal of this plan is called the organization of priority work on the formation in Russia of a high-performance export-oriented hydrogen energy, developing on the basis of modern technologies and provided with highly qualified personnel. RESULTS. Transportation and safe storage remains one of the key issues in hydrogen energy. The complexity of this problem is determined by the fact that in the free state hydrogen is one of thelow-boiling gases, in liquid and solid state more than an order of magnitude lighter than water and an order of magnitude lighter than gasoline. The molecules of the substance are so small that they can seep through the atomic structure of a metal container at temperatures above minus 253 ° C. Maintaining such a temperature in a large volume for a long time is energy-intensive. Another problem is hydrogen embrittlement and destruction of metals by atomic hydrogen. Even high-strength steels, as well as titanium and nickel alloys, are susceptible to it. CONCLUSION. The demand for hydrogen is growing due to the shift to the consumption of cleaner and lighter fuel oils, while the petroleum feedstock is getting heavier. But at the same time, the potential of natural gas has not yet been exhausted, which already now contributes to the low-carbon development of the economy. Skepticism about hydrogen technologies will disappear only when one of them gains relatively widespread use. At the same time, there is no doubt that hydrogen is very relevant for the creation of chemical current generators. This is of great importance for transport, and for distributed energy, and for a number of other areas.

PURPOSE. To analyze the prospects of integrating hydrogen technologies into the traditional directions of development of the electric power industry in the world and Russia. To highlight the competitive advantages of Russia in the changing structure of the industry with the transition to" green " hydrogen. METHODS. The analysis of the literature data and the data of the international information exchange is carried out. RESULTS. The most urgent scientific and technical problem of the economy, affecting any practical aspect of human economic activity, is the issue of the availability of energy resources and the impact on the environment. It is now, in the context of the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, that the trends of globalization are particularly acute, and the degree of cross-border information communication using digital capabilities has increased many times. CONCLUSION. The transition to a new technological stage of energy supply for our society is more urgent than ever, based on innovative approaches to the creation of intelligently managed global energy systems with their consolidation and, at the same time, decentralization and distribution to local levels of centers, production, consumption and management, increasing the share of small RES, the introduction of new digital solutions, the use of hydrogen technology chains and hybrid systems based on them and other promising energy technologies on an industrial scale.

Guidance on Sensor Placement was identified as the top research priority for hydrogen sensors at the 2018 HySafe Research Priority Workshop on hydrogen safety in the category Mitigation, Sensors, Hazard Prevention, and Risk Reduction. This paper discusses the initial steps (Phase 1) to develop such guidance for mechanically ventilated enclosures. This work was initiated as an international collaborative effort to respond to emerging market needs related to the design and deployment equipment for hydrogen infrastructure that is often installed in individual equipment cabinets or ventilated enclosures. The ultimate objective of this effort is to develop guidance for an optimal sensor placement such that, when integrated into a facility design and operation, will allow earlier detection at lower levels of incipient leaks, leading to significant hazard reduction. Reliable and consistent early warning of hydrogen leaks will allow for the risk mitigation by reducing or even eliminating the probability of escalation of small leaks into large and uncontrolled events. To address this issue, a study of a real-world mechanically ventilated enclosure containing GH2 equipment was conducted, where CFD modeling of the hydrogen dispersion (performed by AVT and UQTR, and independently by the JRC) was validated by the NREL Sensor laboratory using a Hydrogen Wide Area Monitor (HyWAM) consisting of a 10-point gas and temperature measurement analyzer. In the release test, helium was used as a hydrogen surrogate. Expansion of indoor releases to other larger facilities (including parking structures, vehicle maintenance facilities and potentially tunnels) and incorporation into QRA tools, such as HyRAM is planned for Phase 2. It is anticipated that results of this work will be used to inform national and international standards such as NFPA 2 Hydrogen Technologies Code, Canadian Hydrogen Installation Code (CHIC) and relevant ISO/TC 197 and CEN documents.

We present the results of a life-cycle assessment (LCA) for the manufacturing and end-of-life (EoL) phases of the following fuel-cell and hydrogen (FCH) technologies: alkaline water electrolyser (AWE), polymer-electrolyte-membrane water electrolyser (PEMWE), high-temperature (HT) and low-temperature (LT) polymer-electrolyte-membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), together with the balance-of-plant components. New life-cycle inventories (LCIs), i.e., material inputs for the AWE, PEMWE and HT PEMFC are developed, whereas the existing LCI for the LT PEMFC is adopted from a previous EU-funded project. The LCA models for all four FCH technologies are created by modelling the manufacturing phase, followed by defining the EoL strategies and processes used and finally by assessing the effects of the EoL approach using environmental indicators. The effects are analysed with a stepwise approach, where the CML2001 assessment method is used to evaluate the environmental impacts. The results show that the environmental impacts of the manufacturing phase can be substantially reduced by using the proposed EoL strategies (i.e., recycled materials being used in the manufacturing phase and replacing some of the virgin materials). To point out the importance of critical materials (in this case, the platinum-group metals or PGMs) and their recycling strategies, further analyses were made. By comparing the EoL phase with and without the recycling of PGMs, an increase in the environmental impacts is observed, which is much greater in the case of both fuel-cell systems, because they contain a larger quantity of PGMs.

The global energy system has to undergo a large transformation to achieve the climate targets as mentioned in the Paris Agreement. The share of electricity in all of the energy consumed by end users worldwide increases tremendously which would be about 40% in 2050 to achieve the decarbonised energy. Hydrogen could therefore be the possible link in the energy transition. Hydrogen from renewables could replace fossil fuel-based feedstocks in high-emission applications. Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) provide a low-carbon mobility option when the hydrogen is produced from renewable energy sources and offer driving performance comparable to conventional vehicles. FCEVs are complementary to battery electric vehicles and can also overcome some of the current limitations of batteries in terms of weight, driving range and refuelling time in the medium to high duty cycle segments. As the key hydrogen technologies are maturing and it has been understood that scale-up can yield the necessary technology cost reductions. Proton exchange membrane electrolysers and fuel cells are approaching technical maturity and economies of scale. Commercial deployment has started in several regions of the world. Initial efforts could focus on large-scale applications, with minimal infrastructure requirements, and on sectors where hydrogen from renewables stands out as the best-performing option to meet climate targets. Such applications include large-scale industry such as petrochemicals, steel and medium-to heavy-duty transport, medium to large passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles, large fleets of buses, trucks, trains, maritime, and aviation. However, hydrogen from renewable electricity is most likely to achieve cost competitiveness through high electrolyser utilisation rates combined with renewable electricity. The present document analyses the fuel cell technology, sustainability elements, the potential of using hydrogen as an alternative energy source and for identifying the possibilities of increasing the share of hydrogen energy in various applications. The Strengths–Weakness-Opportunities and Threats analysis was provided, giving in depth details about the technical challenges and hurdles for commercialisation. The recent developments in terms of International initiatives, targets, visions and also from the Indian perspectives, are discussed and a special reference is highlighted about International Advanced Research centre’s work in this direction.

Energy-intensive industries are difficult to decarbonize. They present a major challenge to the emerging countries that are currently in the midst of rapid industrialization and urbanization. This is also applicable to Japan, a developed economy, which retains a large presence in heavy industries compared to other developed economies. In this paper, the results obtained from four energy-economic and integrated assessment models were utilized to explore climate mitigation scenarios of Japan’s industries by 2050. The results reveal that: (i) Japan’s share of emissions from industries may increase by 2050, highlighting the difficulties in achieving industrial decarbonization under the prevailing industrial policies; (ii) the emission reduction in steelmaking will play a key role, which can be achieved by the implementation of carbon capture and expansion of hydrogen technologies after 2040; (iii) even under mitigation scenarios, electrification and the use of biomass use in Japan’s industries will continue to be limited in 2050, suggesting a low possibility of large-scale fuel switching or end-use decarbonization. After stocktaking of the current industry-sector modeling in integrated assessment models, we found that such limited uptake of cleaner fuels in the results may be related to the limited interests of both participating models and industry stakeholders in Japan, specifically the interests on the technologies that are still at the early stage of development but with high reduction potential. It is crucial to upgrade research and development activities to enable future industry-sector mitigation as well as to improve modeling capabilities of energy end-use technologies in integrated assessment models. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11625-021-00905-2.

In this paper, the current energy mix and the power generation infrastructure of Turkey have been analyzed and two different hydrogen based alternative scenarios applied on Burdur TIMES energy model to foresee the economic and environmental results in the 2016–2031 time period. An improved RES was created to illustrate the current energy network of Burdur city and to determine the relationships between energy carriers and the respective technologies, and then this structure is specified by the relevant data, including fuel cell-powered land vehicle technologies integrated into the land transportation demand side. This paper analyses the feasibility of hydrogen as an alternative energy carrier in the fuel mix for electricity generation in Burdur City to achieve sustainable economic growth, to improve the energy security by minimizing respective environmental emissions and indicate the possible implications of the introduction of the hydrogen supply chain and respective fuel cell end-use technologies in a city level energy modelling perspective. Burdur is selected as the target city to implement the designated level of land transport passenger demand by hydrogen technologies; and after implementation of hydrogen cars in 2020; it has been evaluated that only 0.09 PJ of hydrogen car activity prevents a total of 43.44 kT CO2 emission in Burdur, addressing the 8% of the total emission in the base scenario between the analysis time horizon. Finally, hydrogen has been evaluated as a clean, dependable option to diversify the energy mix on the current energy supply system of Burdur.

В статье проведен анализ энергетических возможностей альтернативных источников Украины. Рассмотрены проекты с применением водородных технологий, направленных на привлечение энергии Солнца в инфраструктуру энерготехнологических комплексов, в частности для заправки автомобильного транспорта, расположенных в зонах с высоким потенциалом солнечной радиации. При эксплуатации автономных заправочных станций, использующих в качестве источника энергии солнечную энергетическую станцию (СЭС), весьма вероятно возникновение нештатных ситуаций, обусловленных прекращением энергоснабжения (вследствие пасмурной погоды), либо аварийным выходом из строя отдельных элементов системы. В данном случае требуется обеспечить вывод ее из эксплуатации без потери технологических возможностей (работоспособности). С этой целью необходимо предусмотреть включение в технологическую схему энерготехнологического комплекса дополнительного элемента, обеспечивающего работу блока в течение заданного времени, определяемого регламентом его эксплуатации. В качестве такого элемента предложена буферная система на основе водородного накопителя энергии. Современный уровень водородных технологий, которые реализуются в электрохимических установках, разработанных в Институте проблем машиностроения им. А. Н. Подгорного Национальной академии наук Украины (ИПМаш НАН Украины), позволяет производить и накапливать водород под высоким давлением, что исключает использование компрессорной техники. Приведена принципиальная схема автономного солнечно-водородного энерготехнологического комплекса для заправки автомобильного транспорта. Описаны особенности подключения солнечных батарей в составе энерготехнологического комплекса. Библ. 20, табл. 1, рис. 6.

The results of exploring the prospects of hydrogen economy are presented. The complete production chains are investigated considering various technologies of production, storage, and subsequent utilization of hydrogen in transportation and electric power generation. Comparative analysis of the economic competitiveness of these chains with each other and with solutions based on the use of alternative fuels has been performed. Potential segments for the commercial application of the technologies and the conditions required have been evaluated. The analysis has established the most promising directions in the development of hydrogen economy. They primarily include the use of hydrogen in the defense industry and power supply of critical facilities, where the energy generation costs are not a determining factor. To be competitive in the civil consumption sectors, such as transportation and the power industry, hydrogen technologies have to become significantly less expensive or to receive the corresponding regulatory support. In many countries, the environmental sustainability of hydrogen production will have great significance. The authors conclude that hydrogen can become one of the fuels of the future; to effect this, however, we will have to tread a difficult path of technological progress under stiff competition with continuously developing alternative power-generation methods.

We show the importance of development and implementation of new hydrogen power systems for different branches of the Ukrainian economy. It is determined that the key technologies for the creation of hydrogen power in Ukraine are the technologies of hydrogen production using own energy sources and the direct conversion of chemical energy of hydrogen fuels into electricity in fuel cells. We present the main characteristics and advantages of fuel cell power plants (FCPP) and the global volume of their application for different industries. The total electric capacity of FCPP working in 2019 became more than 11 times greater as compared with 2009 and reached 1,100 MW. It was established that the introduction of fuel cell technologies in industrialized countries is considered as a basis for the creation of a centralized world hydrogen economy with the presence and further development of extensive hydrogen infrastructure. The state of work on standardization in the field of hydrogen power at the international level is analyzed, and the complexity and multiplicity of such tasks are shown. It is substantiated that the appropriate base of normative documents is necessary for the practical implementation of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly hydrogen technologies in Ukraine, in particular, for the production or import of equipment with its subsequent certification. These normative documents should be harmonized with European and international ones in order to remove possible technical barriers in trade.

This paper presents a prominent e-learning tool that is part of deliverable packages of Hy2Green Project (Ref. 2017-1-ES01-KA203-038302). The aim of the project is to develop an online training course that can help to improve new professional profiles in hydrogen technologies, in line with the energy transition model in Europe. As part of this training course and as result of a team collaboration, a remote laboratory based on hydrogen technology has been designed and implemented. Through the online platform, students from every part of the world can access remotely and in real-time, to a real laboratory built from a scaled green-hydrogen production plant. The green-hydrogen production plant has, in addition to hydrogen production and storage subsystems, a fuel cell, through which electricity is generated with the stored hydrogen. The developed remote laboratory offers technological and educational improvements. From the technological point of view, it allows handling a real installation, throughout the entire energy conversion process, being able to carry out laboratory tests, to characterize the different components. This remote laboratory is proposed as a multidisciplinary tool, where students develop their skills in automatic control, system modelling and renewable energy management. On the other side, from the educational point of view, this proposal contributes to democratization of education. That is nowadays equipment related to hydrogen technology is not cheap, so this implies that not all educational centres cannot afford to have a hydrogen laboratory. The remote laboratory presented in this work offers the possibility to carry out laboratory practices to whatever the student and the university are.

After the research, the authors came to the conclusion: it is necessary to get a new, interstate platform-type structure for the development, production and large-scale implementation of civil hydrogen technologies for various fields of activity and the state.

Hydrogen is currently enjoying a renewed and widespread momentum in many national and international climate strategies. This review paper is focused on analysing the challenges and opportunities that are related to green and blue hydrogen, which are at the basis of different perspectives of a potential hydrogen society. While many governments and private companies are putting significant resources on the development of hydrogen technologies, there still remains a high number of unsolved issues, including technical challenges, economic and geopolitical implications. The hydrogen supply chain includes a large number of steps, resulting in additional energy losses, and while much focus is put on hydrogen generation costs, its transport and storage should not be neglected. A low-carbon hydrogen economy offers promising opportunities not only to fight climate change, but also to enhance energy security and develop local industries in many countries. However, to face the huge challenges of a transition towards a zero-carbon energy system, all available technologies should be allowed to contribute based on measurable indicators, which require a strong international consensus based on transparent standards and targets.

In December 2019, the European Commission unveiled an ambitious project, the European Green Deal, which aims to lead the European Union to climate neutrality by 2050. This is a significant challenge for all EU countries, and especially for Poland. The role of hydrogen in the processes of decarbonization of the economy and transport is being discussed in many countries around the world to find rational solutions to this difficult and complex problem. There is an ongoing discussion about the hydrogen economy, which covers the production of hydrogen, its storage, transport, and conversion to the desired forms of energy, primarily electricity, mechanical energy, and new fuels. The development of the hydrogen economy can significantly support the achievement of climate neutrality. The belief that hydrogen plays an important role in the transformation of the energy sector is widespread. There are many technical and economic challenges, as well as legal and logistical barriers to deal with in the transition process. The development of hydrogen technologies and a global sustainable energy system that uses hydrogen offers a real opportunity to solve the challenges facing the global energy industry: meeting the need for clean fuels, increasing the efficiency of fuel and energy production, and significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The paper provides an in-depth analysis of the Polish Hydrogen Strategy, a document that sets out the directions for the development of hydrogen use (competences and technologies) in the energy, transport, and industrial sectors. This analysis is presented against the background of the European Commission’s document ‘A Hydrogen Strategy for a Climate-Neutral Europe’. The draft project presented is a good basis for further discussion on the directions of development of the Polish economy. The Polish Hydrogen Strategy, although it was created later than the EU document, does not fully follow its guidelines. The directions for further work on the hydrogen strategy are indicated so that its final version can become a driving force for the development of the country’s economy.

Solar energy and photocatalysis will undoubtedly play a key aspect in the energy transition. In this background, hydrogen emerged as the ideal photocatalysis-driven solar fuel due to the simplicity of the water-splitting reaction. But finding a single catalyst with sufficient solar-to-photon conversion efficiency remains an important bottleneck of this technology. A constraint that prompted the advancement of multi-phase composites with broader capabilities. Owing to their unique properties, plasmonic Schottky junctions and Z-scheme heterojunctions arose as promising approaches to enhance hydrogen production. But the selection of suitable components towards multi-phasic composites remains challenging due to the absence of standardization in literature and proper characterization of existing materials. Characterization is especially important since components' plasmon wavelength (visible or NIR) and electronic properties have a significant influence on light-harvesting properties and charge carriers separation of the resulting composites. Plus, the optoelectronic properties of the semiconductors determine the resulting type of heterojunction with potential influence in the charge carrier separation via photosensitization. Recent studies suggest that the combination of TiO2 (broad band gap), gC3N4 (narrow band gap), and gold may achieve efficient plasmonic and Z-scheme heterojunctions. In this review, we cover the synthesis and implementation of these materials (alone or in combination), including key technical aspects in photocatalysis, plasmonics, and hydrogen production subjects. We also address pertinent knowledge, experimental gaps, and point to future perspectives to further improve the development of photocatalytic-driven hydrogen technologies. Globally, this multi-phasic composite Au/TiO2-gC3N4 could be used as a platform to continue reinforcing TiO2 efficiencies via photosensitization, co-catalysis, and surface plasmon resonance.

This article deals with the design and implementation of regulation and visualization of the cooling system of hydrogen technologies in the research unit CENET (Centre of Energy Utilization of Non-traditional Energy Sources) at VSB-TU Ostrava. The method of energy conversion in a hydrogen laboratory and the methods of its regulation in connection with the cooling process and its setting for activities dependent on other installed non-traditional sources of electricity are analyzed. Finally, the implementation of control algorithms and visualization technology in the process of analysis and synthesis of hydrogen in electricity and back is discussed.

Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies have shown that they can play an important role in the transition of energy supply from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. In addition to electricity generation from wind, water, and solar energy, other challenges such as the distribution of energy among the different industrial sectors and the interim storage of energy have to be considered. Fuel cells using hydrogen as an environmentally friendly source of energy can be a key technology and the market maturity is progressing steadily. For special applications and in individual markets, the market launch has already been successful. The sales figures of fuel cell–powered μCHP units for domestic energy supply are rising rapidly, especially in Japan and Germany. The use of fuel cells in material handling with forklifts and in powering factories and shopping malls is becoming increasingly prevalent in the United States, especially in California. By contrast, the use of fuel cells in the transport sector is just initiated. But due to the small series production of FCEVs and the increased refueling infrastructure, the elements for further deployment are available now. It is notable that the introduction of this hydrogen mobility is less a matter of private users, but rather of vehicle fleet operators. In addition to cars and buses, it is becoming increasingly clear that heavyduty applications are of great interest. Trains, ships, and trucks using fuel cells have been evaluated in real operation. It was shown that new transport applications for fuel cells are currently focusing on areas with high energy demand and with high range requirements. Although first vehicles are commercially available throughout the transport sector, the maturity of this technology needs to be further increased. The implementation of mass production for compact, robust, durable, and cost- and application-oriented systems is the main task of the coming years. It can already be observed that the production of fuel cell systems is becoming closer to production and a rapid cost decrease due to economies of scale is expected. As the US central government is currently promoting fossil fuels, Asia has become the strongest center of hydrogen technology. In addition to Japan and South Korea, China is massively increasing its efforts to be a major player in the electromobility and hydrogen technologies sectors. In Europe, significant efforts continue to develop fuel cell technology toward market maturity. In some applications, such as the μCHPs, the implementation in the market seems to be achievable in a timely manner.

In this article, the role of LNG is analysed within a necessary background of the climate change mitigation policy of the international community in general and the EU in particular. The Baltic Sea countries are an important part of the energy transition process, although their energy balances and production-import mixes for energy supplies vary greatly. They comprise from coal as an essential part of the energy base to a bold attempt to reduce the production-related emission of greenhouse gases (GHG). Consumption-related emissions are not targeted per se, while they are definitely affected through general measures on increasing effectiveness and technological ways and means. Natural gas is seen as ‘a missed bridge’ between oil plus coal and renewable energy sources (RES) since the political aspects and climate policies have created an unusual change of energy regimes. This change is based on the restrictions from the intergovernmental decisions made before technological and commercial backgrounds have been secured. In contrast, a more rational approach would be based on the existing cost-effectiveness. LNG may become victimised as ‘an innocent bystander’ because of the additional emission vis-a-vis pipeline gas. The EU’s decision on the dramatic reduction of reliance on all fossil fuels by 2030 and later on has become a game-changer: there will be no big gas market in the EU after the expiration of long-term contracts with Gazprom in the 2030s. The new development makes most debates on gas supplies in the Baltic Sea region (and on LNG as a part of them) obsolete and strictly political. From now on, governmental policies will be drifting to domestic policies on coal, expecting success in developing hydrogen technologies, and seeking the financing of additional investment and current costs, invoking these dramatic changes in the 2020s. The Green Deal will free Baltic Sea region countries (at some costs) from fossil fuels, including natural gas and LNG. And the latter will be deprived in a decade or two from any role, controversial or not.

The trends of renewable energy development and peculiarities of knowledge management in this field are investigated in the article. The purpose of the study is to identify trends in the development of renewable energy and features of knowledge management at enterprises in this field. The basic principles at the national and international levels for the development of renewable energy in Ukraine are identified. The structure of electricity production from different sources of generation is investigated. Dynamics of energy consumption based on renewable sources from 2007 to 2018 are analyzed. Based on the dynamics analysis it is established that energy consumption based on wind and solar energy is growing rapidly. It is determined that the facilities of wind energy systems and solar energy systems accounted for more than 99% of installed capacity due to renewable energy sources in Q1 2019. There is an increase in the number of enterprises in the renewable energy sector, which requires the introduction of knowledge management approaches for their further development. The main aspects of knowledge management at the renewable energy enterprises are determined, which are caused by the sectoral features of the functioning of these enterprises. Examples of scientific, technological and managerial knowledge on the example of renewable energy are given. The directions of application of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards in the field of renewable energy are detailed, namely: solar energy, solid biofuels, energy management, hydrogen technologies, environmental management, heat pumps and others. The formation of external networks and the use of IT technologies are of particular importance. The main drivers (driving forces) in knowledge management for realization in the renewable energy enterprises are defined and characterized, namely: knowledge creation, knowledge search, knowledge storage, knowledge exchange, organizational training. The main competences of the modern renewable energy project manager are noted.

With the increase in the world population, the needs for energy generation have increased, the biggest contribution for this production comes from fossil fuels, which causes significant negative impacts on the environment and sustainability, such as global warming and stock-outs. In this way, it is essential to develop renewable energy alternatives that gradually replace conventional sources. However, these kinds of sources mostly dependent on environmental conditions, so they have the disadvantage of being intermittent and fluctuating. It is considered that hydrogen can be an attractive option for energy storage maximizing the benefit of renewable energy sources. In the last decades, different technologies have been developed to the use of hydrogen as backup and a renewable energy source. This study provides an inspection of the hydrogen technologies that range from the ways to produce hydrogen from renewable energy sources to their different storage alternatives. It is also presented an outlook of available energy policies and development background in different Latin American countries for power generation using renewable sources. Finally, the analysis focuses its attention in the Colombian potential for several sources (solar, wind, biomass) combined with the use of production and storage technologies for hydrogen as an energy carrier.Keywords: Hydrogen Energy Storage, Hydrogen Production, Renewable Energy, Power-to-GasJEL Classifications: Q28, Q48, Q58DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.8294

The primary goal of this study is to determine the minimum cost of energy (COE) for five different global locations – Squamish, Canada; Los Angeles and Golden, USA; and Brisbane and Adelaide, Australia – based on renewable energy systems. We do this by investigating power generation and hydrogen production via renewable energy resources (mainly solar and wind) to produce synthetic fuels by capturing CO2 from the atmosphere. Nine different renewable energy systems are considered based on photovoltaic (PV), wind turbines (WT) and combinations thereof, including battery banks and hydrogen technologies. We used the Hybrid Optimization Model for Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER Pro) microgrid software to simulate the optimum size of system components and to identify the cost-effective configurations based on particular locations. When considering minimum COE, the results show that integration of PV, WT, a battery bank, an electrolyser and a hydrogen tank are at 0.50 $/kWh at Golden, Colorado, USA. We also found that without a battery bank, the minimum COE is 0.78 $/kWh at the same location. In this case, the cost increase is due to the capital cost of system components, mainly the hydrogen technologies. The results of this study suggest that hydrogen has economic benefits over batteries for long-term energy storage in off-grid energy systems.

In order to maximise European, national and regional research and innovation potential the European Union is investing in these fields through different funding mechanisms such as the ESIF or H2020 programme. This investment plan is part of the European 2020 strategy, where the concept of Smart Specialisation is also included. Smart Specialisation is an innovation policy concept designed to promote the efficient and effective use of public investment in regional innovation in order to achieve economic growth. The Smart Specialisation Platform was created to support this concept by assisting regions and Member States in developing, implementing and reviewing their research and innovation Smart Specialisation strategies. The Smart Specialisation Platform comprises several thematic platforms. The thematic Smart Specialisation Platform on energy (S3PEnergy) is a joint initiative of three European Commission services: DG REGIO, DG ENER, and the Joint Research Centre (JRC). The main objective of the S3PEnergy is to support the optimal and effective uptake of the Cohesion Policy funds for energy, and to better align energy innovation activities at national, local and regional level through the identification of the technologies and innovative solutions that support in the most cost-effective way the EU energy policy priorities. In the particular case of hydrogen technologies, the activities of the platform are mainly focused on supporting the new Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) initiative involving regions and cities. To date, more than 80 European cities and regions have committed to participate in this initiative through the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding, and more participants are expected to join. S3PEnergy is helping in the identification of potential combination of H2020 funding (provided through FCH JU) and ESIF. To identify potential synergies among these two funding sources, a mapping of the different ESIF opportunities has been performed. In order to map these opportunities, Operational Programmes (OPs) and research and innovation strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3) of the different European regions and Member States were analysed. The results of this mapping and analysis are presented in this paper.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had successfully concluded a Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on the techno-economic aspects of nuclear hydrogen production with the participation of eleven countries including leading countries on nuclear hydrogen production such as Japan, USA, China, India, Republic of Korea and Canada. The activities carried out through this four-years CRP paved the way for addressing several development key issues related to nuclear hydrogen production. The main focus was on assessing various technological and economic aspects of potential nuclear hydrogen production options. The CRP has resulted in finalizing four detailed case studies on different systems for nuclear hydrogen production. These case studies were used to perform benchmark analysis for the IAEA Hydrogen Economic Evaluation Programme (HEEP), developed by the IAEA to support Member States considering the use of nuclear energy for hydrogen production. This paper highlights some activities, results, and status of international collaborative efforts on nuclear hydrogen production conducted in the Member States (MSs) participated to the CRP. The paper also presents the results of country-specific case studies considering different nuclear reactors and hydrogen technologies.

Although activities in hydrogen technologies in the Czech Republic date back to the 60'ies of the 20th century, significant progress in research and implementation appeared only in the 21st century. The acceleration is linked to the foundation of the Czech Hydrogen Technology Platform (HYTEP) in 2007. The mission of HYTEP is to inform and coordinate implementation of hydrogen economy in the Czech Republic. The last three years brought visible changes. The most important one is that hydrogen mobility is part of the national action plan for clean mobility. During the conference WHTC 2017 in Prague the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Environment announced support for construction of over 100 hydrogen refilling stations and more than 100,000 hydrogen cars and buses until 2030. Thanks to this governmental activities also first commercial subject developed plans how utilize the potential of hydrogen technologies. In the future HYTEP has the ambition to initiate coordination with other former East Bloc countries. The objective is to strengthen active participation of this region in European efforts and to link it to European networks and strategies to turn regional stakeholders into active participants in hydrogen technologies.

The substantial expansion of renewable energy sources is creating the foundation to successfully transform the German energy sector (the so-called ‘Energiewende’). A by-product of this development is the corresponding capacity demand for the transportation, distribution and storage of energy. Hydrogen produced by electrolysis offers a promising solution to these challenges, although the willingness to invest in hydrogen technologies requires the identification of competitive and climate-friendly pathways in the long run. Therefore, this paper employs a pathway analysis to investigate the use of renewable hydrogen in the German passenger car transportation sector in terms of varying market penetration scenarios for fuel cell-electric vehicles (FCEVs). The investigation focuses on how an H2 infrastructure can be designed on a national scale with various supply chain networks to establish robust pathways and important technologies, which has not yet been done. Therefore, the study includes all related aspects, from hydrogen production to fueling stations, for a given FCEV market penetration scenario, as well as the CO2 reduction potential that can be achieved for the transport sector. A total of four scenarios are considered, estimating an FCEV market share of 1–75% by the year 2050. This corresponds to an annual production of 0.02–2.88 million tons of hydrogen. The findings show that the most cost-efficient H2 supply (well-to-tank: 6.7–7.5 €/kgH2) can be achieved in high demand scenarios (FCEV market shares of 30% and 75%) through a combination of cavern storage and pipeline transport. For low-demand scenarios, however, technology pathways involving LH2 and LOHC truck transport represent the most cost-efficient options (well-to-tank: 8.2–11.4 €/kgH2).

Hydrogen is a generally abundant, safe, clean and environmentally apt alternative fuel, which replenishes the void generated by depleting fossil fuel reserves. The adoption of hydrogen as an energy source has been restricted to low levels due to the complications associated with its viable storage and usage. Existing technologies, such as storage of hydrogen in compressed and liquefied forms are not adequate to meet the broad on-board applications. The gravimetric energy density (120 MJ/kg) of hydrogen is three times higher than that of gasoline products, so solid-state hydrogen storage is advantageous. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and graphene are solid adsorbents majorly employed for efficient H2 storage. The prominent features of MOFs such as permanent porosity, structural rigidity, and surface area are attractive and ideal for hydrogen storage. In addition, nanostructured carbon materials (MWCNTs and graphene) and their composites have demonstrated significant hydrogen storage capacities. Some important parameters for the success of the hydrogen economy include high storage density, adsorption/desorption temperature and cycling time. Cryo-hydrogen storage was achieved in MOFs and their composites with carbon structures, but storage at ambient temperature and acceptable pressures is a major hurdle. This review discusses various strategies and mechanisms in the design of adsorbents explored to improve H2 storage capacities and afford opportunities to develop new sustainable hydrogen technologies to meet energy targets.

Severe climate change effects along with the increasing need for countries to become independent from fossil fuels are leading countries to seek more sustainable energy sources. This is not an easy task, as many renewables lack the portability and reduced variability which is required to properly satisfy energy demands. In this context, hydrogen technologies are a promising alternative to work towards this goal. This work presents a brief summary on hydrogen technology properties, focusing in particular on the description of hydrogen cells, their characteristics and main applications. Finally, the operation of a PEM cell is simulated using a computer model, in order to illustrate how these tools can be used to further characterize PEM cell performance when designing hydrogen-based solutions.

This paper proposes power generation forecasting for photovoltaic power plants by using Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference Systems library in MATLAB and considering meteorological factors. Renewable energy sources (RES) introduce compensation instability problems in the grid hence forecasting methods are considered. Especially important for grid operators is a day ahead forecasting as it can reduce negative imbalance price. Means of ensuring the balance reliability of the power system in terms of RES integration are presented. The installation of charging stations for electric vehicles or use of hydrogen technologies and modern storage systems can provide grid balance. In addition, decreasing the deviation of the current (real) value from the predicted value of power generation is a way to compensate for power unbalance.

The problem of assessing the cost of C-fuel substitution is approached by means of a general interpretation of Wright's law and the introduction of the concept of thermodynamic utility which derives from energy carrier specific energy and storage state conditions. Via the Bienaymé–Chebyshev inequality, the ideal final cost ratio is determined at three different probabilities each with regard to compressed hydrogen, liquid hydrogen and Li-ion technology. The 96 % probability values supposedly balance insight and interval size best: however, cost-parity is not a result in any case. This paper points out evidence for the thesis that the subject of C-fuel substitution is governed by an intrinsic thermodynamic causality beyond economic and human factors, ultimately defining hidden pre-existing ideal baseline thresholds to the achievable in reality.

The energy transition is not something that awaits us in the next decade. On the contrary, it is a process in which we are already deeply enrolled. The main step towards the creation of a carbon-neutral society is the implementation of renewable energy sources (RES) as replacements for fossil fuels. Given the intermittency of RES, energy storage has an essential role to play in this transition. Hydrogen technology with its many advances was recognized to be the most promising choice. As multiple hydrogen applications were researched relatively recently, the current development of its technology is not yet on the large-scale implementation level. With the increasing number of studies and initiated projects, the utilization of hydrogen's immense ecological potential is to be expected in the next few decades. New innovative solutions of hydrogen technology that includes hydrogen production, storage, distribution, and usage, are permeating all industry sectors. In a rapidly changing world, technological advances bring forth public discussions, that are a deciding factor whether society will be able to adapt and accept those new contributions or reject them. Currently, hydrogen is the best associated with fuel cell electric vehicles which emit only water vapour and warm air, producing no harmful tailpipe emissions. As various scientists are stressing the gravity of climate change effects that are reaching the physical environment, ecosystems, and humanity in general, concern for the future is becoming the main global topic. Consequently, governments are implementing new sustainable policies that promote RES as a substitute for fossil fuels. Increasing progress in hydrogen technology instigated nations worldwide to incorporate hydrogen in their energy legislations and national development plans, which resulted in numerous national hydrogen strategies. This work shows the progress of hydrogen taking its place as a key factor of the future green energy society. It reviews recent developments of hydrogen technologies, their social, industrial, and environmental standing, as well as the stage of transitioning economies of both advanced and beginner countries. An example of the ongoing energy transition is Croatia, which is in the process of implementing a hydrogen strategy with the ambition to be able to one day equally participates in the rapidly emerging hydrogen market.

Trabajo presentado en el 16th IFAC Symposium on Advanced Control of Chemical Processes ADCHEM 2021, celebrado en Venecia (Italia), del 13 al 16 de junio de 2021, One of the approaches to green energy of interest in recent years is through the use of hydrogen technologies in which the waste product of combustion is water rather than carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, and other pollutants generated by the burning of hydrocarbon fuels. Ethanol steam reformers is one of the primary technologies with the potential to generate hydrogen efficiently and reliably. This article investigates the design of nonlinear optimal feedback control systems for ethanol steam reformers based on mechanistic models described by a system of nonlinear partial differential-algebraic equations, aka singular/descriptor systems. The mechanistic models are too complicated to simulate in real-time using the standard numerical discretization methods, much less to directly incorporate such models as nonlinear constraints into mechanistic model-based nonlinear model predictive control formulations. This article employs a rather sophisticated multivariate form of the method of characteristics to reformulate the nonlinear constraints into a much simpler form amenable to real-time control implementations., Financial support from the MIT-Spain Seed Fund is acknowledged.

Geographical Islands have been considered a challenge environment to test renewable energy integration strategies as well as cutting-edge technologies due to the alternation between actual grid-connected and island mode. This is due to the weak connection to the mainland and, subsequently, the Power Grid as well as the strong changes in seasonal energy demand leading to congestion and stability issues. Hydrogen technologies could be the pathway to mitigate the afore-mentioned issues providing bi-directional energy exchange as in the case of reversible solid oxide cells or interacting with other sectors such as transport by fuelling fuel cell vehicles by means of H2 produced by electrolysers. The scale of renewables locally installed plays a key role and this is why the amount of surface dedicated to solar energy exploitation as well as the number of buildings involved in the design are crucial. Therefore, in this paper a sensitivity analysis is carried out between 1 and 3 buildings, i.e. 20–100 kW of committed electrical power located in the Island as well as the surface dedicated to PV array for local production. The hydrogen energy system layouts of the simulated scenarios are optimized by the adoption of the ©E-OPT software platform based on a Mixed Integer Non Linear Programming solver. The scale affects the choice of the best hydrogen technology to integrate in order to increase the self-sufficiency of the compound and, consequently, the energy security of its supply. Furthermore, when coupled with CO2 emissions the performance vary with the final use of the stored hydrogen.

The recent diffusion of RES (Renewable Energy Sources), considering the electric energy produced by photovoltaic and wind plants, brought to light the problem of the unpredictable nature of wind and solar energy. P2G (Power to Gas) implementation seems to be the right solution, transforming curtailed energy in hydrogen. The choice of the settlement of P2G plants is linked to many factors like the distances between the gas grid and the settlement of RES plants, the transportation networks, the energy production, and population distribution. In light of this, the implementation of a Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) into a Geographic Information System (GIS) processing represents a good strategy to achieve the goal in a specific territorial asset. In this work, this method has been applied to the case of study of Sicily (Italy). The paper shows in detail the geomatic semi-automated processing that allows to find the set of possible solutions and further to choose the best localization for new P2G plants, connected to a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) and integrated with a WebGIS visualization for real-time analysis. This system is useful for the management, the development, and the study of hydrogen technologies, in order to link the electrical network and the gas network datasets with economical and infrastructural assets through GIS processing. In the future new factors will join in the process as policies on hydrogen take shape.

Hydrogen has been identified as a potential energy vector to decarbonise the transport and chemical sectors and achieve global greenhouse gas reduction targets. Despite ongoing efforts, hydrogen technologies are often assessed focusing on their global warming potential while overlooking other impacts, or at most including additional metrics that are not easily interpretable. Herein, a wide range of alternative technologies have been assessed to determine the total cost of hydrogen production by coupling life-cycle assessments with an economic evaluation of the environmental externalities of production. By including monetised values of environmental impacts on human health, ecosystem quality, and resources on top of the levelised cost of hydrogen production, an estimation of the “real” total cost of hydrogen was obtained to transparently rank the alternative technologies. The study herein covers steam methane reforming (SMR), coal and biomass gasification, methane pyrolysis, and electrolysis from renewable and nuclear technologies. Monetised externalities are found to represent a significant percentage of the total cost, ultimately altering the standard ranking of technologies. SMR coupled with carbon capture and storage emerges as the cheapest option, followed by methane pyrolysis, and water electrolysis from wind and nuclear. The obtained results identify the “real” ranges for the cost of hydrogen compared to SMR (business as usual) by including environmental externalities, thereby helping to pinpoint critical barriers for emerging and competing technologies to SMR., Applied Energy, 281, ISSN:0306-2619, ISSN:1872-9118

This article discusses the prospects for the use of hydrogen technologies in conjunction with renewable energy sources. A sim plified model of the power system of an isolated consumer using hydrogen technologies has been compiled. An experimental calculation of the electrical part of the system has been carried out. Based on the results obtained, conclusions are drawn about the further improvement of this model.