Hydrogen Production System and Capacity Optimization Based on Synergistic Operation With Multi-type Electrolyzers Under Wind-solar Power

Coupling the technologies of the electrolysis hydrogen production with hybrid wind-solar power generation is an alternative pathway to improve the stability of renewable energy conversion, as well achieve the diverse utilization. While the randomness and fluctuation of wind/solar energy evidently deteriorate the dynamic operation characteristics of the electrolyzers. In this work, a novel wind-solar hybrid hydrogen generation system was proposed based on multi-type electrolyzers synergistic integration, including the alkaline electrolyzer (AEL) and proton exchange membrane electrolyzer (PEMEL). Their distinct advantages of dynamic operation will be highlighted and readily absorb the wind-solar power. In addition, the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm Ⅱ (NSGA-Ⅱ) method was adopted to optimize the system hydrogen generation capacity, in order to enhance the system efficient conversion and economic performances. The results indicate that PEMEL has better transient response characteristics, and increasing its capacity can effectively improve the electrolysis operation flexibility, which also raise the hydrogen production with favorable economic benefits. Moreover, a case study analysis was implemented, and the optimized AEL and PEMEL capacity ratios were 72.5% and 27.5% respectively. Compared to the single-type AEL hydrogen production, the whole system energy efficiency and the corresponding internal rate of return can be increased by 40% and 38.7%, respectively; both the thermodynamic and economic performances can be evidently enhanced. This research provided a promising method to achieve stable and efficient operation for the renewable energy hydrogen production. ©2022 Chin.Soc.for Elec.Eng.