Leveraging automotive fuel cells can supply zero-emission peak power in the near-term

An increasingly decarbonized yet resilient power grid requires the corresponding build -out of dispatchable zero -emission resources to supply peak power. However, there is a recognized dearth of solutions which can serve multi -day peak demand events both cost-effectively and with near -term deployability. Here, we find that pairing low-cost automotive fuel cells with hydrogen storage in salt caverns can serve as a peaker plant at less than 500 US$/kW at present, a fraction of the cost of conventional fossil fuel -fired peakers. We demonstrate the peaker's value for long duration storage by comparing it with pumped hydro and assessing its profitability within Texas' energy -only market region. Although deployment of these peakers is constrained by the presence of salt caverns, we show that a number of sites in the United States and Europe are endowed with suitable salt formations, while utilizing hydrogen storage in pressurized containers could form a location -agnostic peak power solution.