Experimental results of the hydrogen productioncontrol of a hydrogen energy buffer

Abstract

High penetration of renewable energy requires high reliability to compensate the intermittency of the sources, which is generally tackled by using energy storage systems. However, the selection of the storage technology is not an easy task; it depends on parameters like efficiency, self-discharge, investment costs, etc. Among the different alternatives, hydrogen storage systems present several advantages, such as its low investment costs and inexistent self-discharge, but comparatively, it presents low efficiency. This paper introduces the experimental results of controlling a hydrogen storage system connected to a micro-grid based on renewable generation. The research has been carried out in LabDER at the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, a controlled laboratory designed for the study of distributed energy resources. During the research, a specific control system has been designed and assembled to regulate the hydrogen production, consuming just the excess of energy produced by the renewable sources. The paper includes the design process of the controller, including the experimental characterization of the elements and the experimental results of such control.