Techno-economic analysis of micro fuel cell cogeneration and storage in Germany

In this paper, the effectiveness of support schemes for micro fuel cells in Germany is analyzed with regard to the latest market conditions, technical characteristics, and legislative changes. To this end, a dynamic model is used and applied to high-resolution household demand data. Specifically, we scrutinize whether polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are now a feasible investment option for residential usage in Germany or are likely to become so soon. Furthermore, we investigate whether electric energy storage could be a useful extension to the domestic fuel cell system by supplying short-term peak demand, and thus increasing self-consumption and potentially the overall economic merit. We find that the fuel cell technology analyzed is unlikely to become cost competitive by 2020, and it may take quite some time to achieve a substantial market diffusion. We conclude that for the time being, electric energy storage in combination with a fuel cell system is not a worthwhile investment in a scenario where grid connection is assumed.