Flexible Operation of Electrolysis under Local Conditions and its Impact on the Medium Voltage Grid A Study Case of an Industrial Area in the City of Ulm

Various industrial processes need hydrogen (e.g. steel production), which is commonly produced by fossil energy sources and causes a high amount of greenhouse gases. Hydrogen made of sustainably generated electrical power with the Power-to-gas technology (PtG) can substitute fossil-based hydrogen. Distributed generation (DG) of electrical power, e.g. Photovoltaic (PV), in industry areas is increasing. Due to legal requirements, industrial companies must install PV when they expand their premises. Large ground areas and roofs of this buildings result high peak power of feed-in. An increasing shortage of fossil fuels, such as natural gas because of the sanctions in the Ukraine crisis in 2022, also increases the prices and economic risk which in turn makes PV even more attractive. The high feed-in peak power of PV force distribution system operators (DSO) to reinforce the electrical grid. A smart grid approach to tackle this challenge is the active balancing of feed-in on a local level, e.g. by PtG. In Germany economic constraints impede so far the utilization of PtG as flexible load. This contribution presents an economic comparison of the costs and the revenue of electrolysis systems coupled with an electrical grid impact analysis based on simulation results. Furthermore, balancing power at distribution grid level will be considered. Using the data of a real industrial MV grid area near the city of Ulm enable close realistic assumptions. The analysis shows technical results by the grid simulation and economic results. A result of the simulation is detailed data for loading of assets and voltage values for grid operation. The amount and influence of grid reinforcement point quantitative out technical reserve of robust constructed electricalMV grids and set this in context of local PV potential. In comparison to that was with the simulation demonstrated that flexible load (electrolysis) can be operated to avoiding grid reinforcement. The economic analysis shows the value and allow a quantitative comparison. Thereby was the electrolysis much more profitable than grid reinforcement. Different services and benefits of flexible operated loads were point out in the conclusion, where the outlook discuss gaps in the approach and further analysis that must be taken into consideration.