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Hydrogen Energy Systems for Energy Storage Applications

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 14038

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Claudio Corgnale

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Guest Editor

Greenway Energy, 301 Gateway Drive, Aiken (SC), 29803, USA
Interests: Hydrogen production, hydrogen storage, thermal energy storage, concentrating solar power plants, metal hydride material development and characterization, regenerative fuel cells, metal hydride hydrogen compression

Prof. Dr. Chiara Milanese

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Guest Editor

Pavia Hydrogen Lab, Chemistry Department, Physical Chemistry Section, C.S.G.I. & University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Interests: circular economy; resource recovery; preparation of innovative adsorbent materials for emerging pollutants; solid-state hydrogen storage and energy storage; hydrogen production; innovative nanomaterials and nanoparticles; physicochemical characterization in the solid state
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This special issue focuses on hydrogen-based energy systems, paying particular attention to applications where the hydrogen system is used to store energy. Alternative low-cost and efficient ways to store heat or electricity produced by renewable sources, such as wind power, concentrating solar power plants and photovoltaic systems, are critical for large scale market penetration of renewable energy systems. A typical example of hydrogen-based energy storage is given by regenerative fuel cell applications, where the hydrogen, produced by electrolysis driven by renewable source electricity (e.g. solar photovoltaic or wind power electricity), is reused in a fuel cell to produce electric power again. High temperature thermal energy storage applications see, for instance, the adoption of paired metal hydride materials, which can store high temperature thermal energy, produced through concentrating solar power plants. The stored thermal energy is released later, to drive electric power plants (e.g. steam power plants or supercritical CO₂ Brayton plants) when the direct solar power is unavailable.

This special issue will gather papers relative to this typology of hydrogen-based energy systems, including reviews, viewpoints and original research manuscripts. Papers dealing with topics ranging from fundamental basic science (e.g. relative to hydrogen storage material understanding and development), up to system modeling, design and development (e.g. relative to integrated regenerative fuel cell systems or heat exchanger systems for thermal energy storage) will be considered in the issue.

Dr. Claudio Corgnale
Dr. Chiara Milanese
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Hydrogen energy
hydrogen storage
metal hydrides
renewable energy systems
thermal energy storage
concentrating solar power plants
regenerative fuel cell
electrochemical system
material development

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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27 pages, 3481 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Decentral Production of Green Hydrogen for Energy Systems: An Economically and Environmentally Viable Solution for Surplus Self-Generated Energy in Manufacturing Companies?

by Vincent Kalchschmid, Veronika Erhart, Kerstin Angerer, Stefan Roth and Andrea Hohmann

Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 2994; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15042994 - 7 Feb 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2687

Abstract

Power-to-X processes where renewable energy is converted into storable liquids or gases are considered to be one of the key approaches for decarbonizing energy systems and compensating for the volatility involved in generating electricity from renewable sources. In this context, the production of “green” hydrogen and hydrogen-based derivatives is being discussed and tested as a possible solution for the energy-intensive industry sector in particular. Given the sharp, ongoing increases in electricity and gas prices and the need for sustainable energy supplies in production systems, non-energy-intensive companies should also be taken into account when considering possible utilization paths for hydrogen. This work focuses on the following three utilization paths: “hydrogen as an energy storage system that can be reconverted into electricity”, “hydrogen mobility” for company vehicles and “direct hydrogen use”. These three paths are developed, modeled, simulated, and subsequently evaluated in terms of economic and environmental viability. Different photovoltaic system configurations are set up for the tests with nominal power ratings ranging from 300 kW_p to 1000 kW_p. Each system is assigned an electrolyzer with a power output ranging between 200 kW and 700 kW and a fuel cell with a power output ranging between 5 kW and 75 kW. There are also additional variations in relation to the battery storage systems within these basic configurations. Furthermore, a reference variant without battery storage and hydrogen technologies is simulated for each photovoltaic system size. This means that there are ultimately 16 variants to be simulated for each utilization path. The results show that these utilization paths already constitute a reasonable alternative to fossil fuels in terms of costs in variants with a suitable energy system design. For the “hydrogen as an energy storage system” path, electricity production costs of between 43 and 79 ct/kWh can be achieved with the 750 kW_p photovoltaic system. The “hydrogen mobility” is associated with costs of 12 to 15 ct/km, while the “direct hydrogen use” path resulted in costs of 8.2 €/kg. Environmental benefits are achieved in all three paths by replacing the German electricity mix with renewable energy sources produced on site or by substituting hydrogen for fossil fuels. The results confirm that using hydrogen as a storage medium in manufacturing companies could be economically and environmentally viable. These results also form the basis for further studies, e.g., on detailed operating strategies for hydrogen technologies in scenarios involving a combination of multiple utilization paths. The work also presents the simulation-based method developed in this project, which can be transferred to comparable applications in further studies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrogen Energy Systems for Energy Storage Applications)

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25 pages, 1454 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Planning, Optimisation and Evaluation of Small Power-to-Gas-to-Power Systems: Case Study of a German Dairy

by Lucas Schmeling, Alexander August Ionnis Buchholz, Hilmer Heineke, Peter Klement, Benedikt Hanke and Karsten von Maydell

Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 6050; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106050 - 16 May 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2135

Abstract

In the course of the energy transition, distributed, hybrid energy systems, such as the combination of photovoltaic (PV) and battery storages, is increasingly being used for economic and ecological reasons. However, renewable electricity generation is highly volatile, and storage capacity is usually limited. Nowadays, a new storage component is emerging: the power-to-gas-to-power (PtGtP) technology, which is able to store electricity in the form of hydrogen even over longer periods of time. Although this technology is technically well understood and developed, there are hardly any evaluations and feasibility studies of its widespread integration into current distributed energy systems under realistic legal and economic market conditions. In order to be able to give such an assessment, we develop a methodology and model that optimises the sizing and operation of a PtGtP system as part of a hybrid energy system under current German market conditions. The evaluation is based on a multi-criteria approach optimising for both costs and CO₂ emissions. For this purpose, a brute-force-based optimal design approach is used to determine optimal system sizes, combined with the energy system simulation tool oemof.solph. In order to gain further insights into this technology and its future prospects, a sensitivity analysis is carried out. The methodology is used to examine the case study of a German dairy and shows that PtGtP is not yet profitable but promising. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrogen Energy Systems for Energy Storage Applications)

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13 pages, 23482 KiB

Open AccessArticle

De-hydrogenation/Rehydrogenation Properties and Reaction Mechanism of A_mZn(NH₂)_n-2nLiH Systems (A = Li, K, Na, and Rb)

by Hujun Cao, Claudio Pistidda, Theresia M. M. Richter, Giovanni Capurso, Chiara Milanese, Jo-Chi Tseng, Yuanyuan Shang, Rainer Niewa, Ping Chen, Thomas Klassen and Martin Dornheim

Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1672; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031672 - 31 Jan 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2119

Abstract

With the aim to find suitable hydrogen storage materials for stationary and mobile applications, multi-cation amide-based systems have attracted considerable attention, due to their unique hydrogenation kinetics. In this work, A_mZn(NH₂)_n (with A = Li, K, Na, and Rb) were synthesized via an ammonothermal method. The synthesized phases were mixed via ball milling with LiH to form the systems A_mZn(NH₂)_n-2nLiH (with m = 2, 4 and n = 4, 6), as well as Na₂Zn(NH₂)₄∙0.5NH₃-8LiH. The hydrogen storage properties of the obtained materials were investigated via a combination of calorimetric, spectroscopic, and diffraction methods. As a result of the performed analyses, Rb₂Zn(NH₂)₄-8LiH appears as the most appealing system. This composite, after de-hydrogenation, can be fully rehydrogenated within 30 s at a temperature between 190 °C and 200 °C under a pressure of 50 bar of hydrogen. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrogen Energy Systems for Energy Storage Applications)

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14 pages, 1247 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Operating Characteristics of Metal Hydride-Based Solar Energy Storage Systems

by Bruce J. Hardy, Claudio Corgnale and Stephanie N. Gamble

Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 12117; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132112117 - 2 Nov 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1618

Abstract

Thermochemical energy storage systems, based on a high-temperature metal hydride coupled with a low-temperature metal hydride, represent a valid option to store thermal energy for concentrating solar power plant applications. The operating characteristics are investigated for a tandem hydride bed energy storage system, using a transient lumped parameter model developed to identify the technical performance of the proposed system. The results show that, without operational control, the system undergoes a thermal ratcheting process, causing the metal hydride concentrations to accumulate hydrogen in the high-temperature bed over time, and deplete hydrogen in the low temperature. This unbalanced system is compared with a ’thermally balanced’ system, where the thermal ratcheting is mitigated by thermally balancing the overall system. The analysis indicates that thermally balanced systems stabilize after the first few cycles and remain so for long-term operation, demonstrating their potential for practical thermal energy storage system applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrogen Energy Systems for Energy Storage Applications)

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Other

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16 pages, 1550 KiB

Open AccessViewpoint

Hydrogen-Based Energy Storage Systems for Large-Scale Data Center Applications

by Asha-Dee N. Celestine, Martin Sulic, Marika Wieliczko and Ned T. Stetson

Sustainability 2021, 13(22), 12654; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212654 - 16 Nov 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4160

Abstract

Global demand for data and data access has spurred the rapid growth of the data center industry. To meet demands, data centers must provide uninterrupted service even during the loss of primary power. Service providers seeking ways to eliminate their carbon footprint are increasingly looking to clean and sustainable energy solutions, such as hydrogen technologies, as alternatives to traditional backup generators. In this viewpoint, a survey of the current state of data centers and hydrogen-based technologies is provided along with a discussion of the hydrogen storage and infrastructure requirements needed for large-scale backup power applications at data centers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrogen Energy Systems for Energy Storage Applications)

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