Design and Analysis of a Power-to-Hydrogen-to-Power-based Multi-Energy Microgrid

Today, integrating hydrogen and renewable technologies has become necessary to reach a reliable and economical energy system for modern cities. This paper introduces a design optimization and analysis model for a power-to-hydrogen-to-power (P2H2P)-based multi-energy microgrid (MEμG). The system is proposed to meet the power, heat, and residents-owned electric vehicle charging demands of the hypothetical apartment building in Saudi Arabia. The proposed system comprises a solar PV, wind turbine, battery, fuel cell, electrolyzer, hydrogen storage, and gas boiler. The P2H2P-MEμG was modelled, simulated, and optimized with an objective function to minimize the system lifecycle cost and maximize the renewable energy penetration, considering various system operation constraints. Numerical results enable the optimal capacity sizing and thorough investigation of the positive impacts of P2H2P on operational, economic, and environmental indices of the MEμG compared with other energy system alternatives.