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Article

Hydrogen Production Plant Retrofit for Green H2: Experimental Validation of a High-Efficiency Retrofit of an Alkaline Hydrogen Plant Using an Isolated DC Microgrid

by
Rogerio Luiz da Silva Junior
1,†,
Filipe Tavares Carneiro
1,†,
Leonardo Bruno Garcial Campanhol
1,†,
Guilherme Gemi Pissaia
1,†,
Tales Gottlieb Jahn
1,
Angel Ambrocio Quispe
1,†,
Carina Bonavigo Jakubiu
1,†,
Daniel Augusto Cantane
1,
Leonardo Sostmeyer Mai
2,†,
Jose Alfredo Valverde
3 and
Fernando Marcos Oliveira
1,*,†
1
Itaipu Parquetec, Foz do Iguaçu 85867-900, PR, Brazil
2
ISI Embarcados—SENAI, Florianópolis 88054-700, SC, Brazil
3
CTG-Brazil, São Paulo 04551-060, SP, Brazil
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Energies 2025, 18(20), 5349; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18205349
Submission received: 23 June 2025 / Revised: 1 August 2025 / Accepted: 13 August 2025 / Published: 11 October 2025
(This article belongs to the Section A5: Hydrogen Energy)
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Abstract

Given the climate change observed in the past few decades, sustainable development and the use of renewable energy sources are urgent. In this scenario, hydrogen production through electrolyzers is a promising renewable source and energy vector because of its ultralow greenhouse emissions and high energy content. Hydrogen can be used in a variety of applications, from transportation to electricity generation, contributing to the diversification of the energy matrix. In this context, this paper presents an autonomous isolated DC microgrid system for generating and storing electrical energy to be exclusively used for feeding an electrolyzer hydrogen production plant, which has been retrofitted for green hydrogen production. Experimental verification was performed at Itaipu Parquetec, which consists of an alkaline electrolysis unit directly integrated with a battery energy storage system and renewable sources (e.g., photovoltaic and wind) by using an isolated DC microgrid concept based on DC/DC and AC/DC converters. Experimental results revealed that the new electrolyzer DC microgrid increases the system’s overall efficiency in comparison to the legacy thyristor-based power supply system by 26%, and it autonomously controls the energy supply to the electrolyzer under optimized conditions with an extremely low output current ripple. Another advantage of the proposed DC microgrid is its ability to properly manage the startup and shutdown process of the electrolyzer plant under power generation outages. This paper is the result of activities carried out under the R&D project of ANEEL program No. PD-10381-0221/2021, entitled “Multiport DC-DC Converter and IoT System for Intelligent Energy Management”, which was conducted in partnership with CTG-Brazil.
Keywords: green hydrogen; DC microgrid; renewable energy sources; power plant retrofit green hydrogen; DC microgrid; renewable energy sources; power plant retrofit

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MDPI and ACS Style

da Silva Junior, R.L.; Carneiro, F.T.; Campanhol, L.B.G.; Pissaia, G.G.; Jahn, T.G.; Quispe, A.A.; Jakubiu, C.B.; Cantane, D.A.; Mai, L.S.; Valverde, J.A.; et al. Hydrogen Production Plant Retrofit for Green H2: Experimental Validation of a High-Efficiency Retrofit of an Alkaline Hydrogen Plant Using an Isolated DC Microgrid. Energies 2025, 18, 5349. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18205349

AMA Style

da Silva Junior RL, Carneiro FT, Campanhol LBG, Pissaia GG, Jahn TG, Quispe AA, Jakubiu CB, Cantane DA, Mai LS, Valverde JA, et al. Hydrogen Production Plant Retrofit for Green H2: Experimental Validation of a High-Efficiency Retrofit of an Alkaline Hydrogen Plant Using an Isolated DC Microgrid. Energies. 2025; 18(20):5349. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18205349

Chicago/Turabian Style

da Silva Junior, Rogerio Luiz, Filipe Tavares Carneiro, Leonardo Bruno Garcial Campanhol, Guilherme Gemi Pissaia, Tales Gottlieb Jahn, Angel Ambrocio Quispe, Carina Bonavigo Jakubiu, Daniel Augusto Cantane, Leonardo Sostmeyer Mai, Jose Alfredo Valverde, and et al. 2025. "Hydrogen Production Plant Retrofit for Green H2: Experimental Validation of a High-Efficiency Retrofit of an Alkaline Hydrogen Plant Using an Isolated DC Microgrid" Energies 18, no. 20: 5349. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18205349

APA Style

da Silva Junior, R. L., Carneiro, F. T., Campanhol, L. B. G., Pissaia, G. G., Jahn, T. G., Quispe, A. A., Jakubiu, C. B., Cantane, D. A., Mai, L. S., Valverde, J. A., & Oliveira, F. M. (2025). Hydrogen Production Plant Retrofit for Green H2: Experimental Validation of a High-Efficiency Retrofit of an Alkaline Hydrogen Plant Using an Isolated DC Microgrid. Energies, 18(20), 5349. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18205349

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