Hydrogen Storage Applications in Industrial Microgrids

In this study, we investigate the cost-effectiveness of hydrogen storage systems in industrial microgrids. This analysis is enabled by an extension introduced to the Distributed Energy Resources – Customer Adoption Model. We analyze the potential to mitigate costs associated with volumetric time-of-use rates through arbitrage, reduce peak loads, and optimize the use of on-site generation, amongst others. The analysis is supported by a case study using real load data from two manufacturing companies with significant heat loads. We find that hydrogen storage systems can be economically viable per se and can be competitive with other storage systems such as standard electrochemical storage. The use of a fuel cell with combined heat and power production further integrates sectors but does
not lead to financial savings.