Electrical energy storage combined with renewable hydrogen production
Year of publication
2025
Authors
Huhtinen, Sini; Tsupari, Eemeli; Rämä, Miika
Abstract
<p>The applications and need for large-scale, long-duration electrical energy storage are growing as both the share of renewable energy in energy systems and the demand for flexibility increase. One potential application is the renewable hydrogen industry, where temporal matching of renewable electricity generation and hydrogen production will be required in the future according to the new European Union regulations. In this paper, a case study of electrical energy storage utilization in hydrogen production is conducted in the Nordic context, with a high share of wind production. The storage is used in the hydrogen production process for temporal matching. The levelized cost of storage of three medium- to long-term storage technologies is assessed using an Excel-based model, with four case approaches. In the first case approach, the electrolyzer load is inflexible, while the other approaches explore how the flexibility of the electrolyzer and the increase in renewable production capacity affect the size and cost of the storage. Electro-thermal energy storage, based on sand as storage material, presented the lowest levelized cost of storage (114–198 €/MWh) due to its low energy-related investment cost. However, the results show that additional usage purposes for all examined storage technologies are required to avoid high investment costs. Additionally, flexibility from the electrolyzer load and over-investing in renewable capacity is required. In conclusion, storage should not be the only component providing flexibility in the studied system, and it should be used to integrate multiple assets in the wider energy system to reach cost-effectiveness. This paper brings novelty by expanding on the storage technology options considered in previous literature and deepening the perspective of storage as a component in renewable hydrogen production. Future research should assess the effect of electricity prices and emissions allowance prices from the regulatory perspective, which could further reduce the storage investment.</p>
Show moreOrganizations and authors
Publication type
Publication format
Article
Parent publication type
Journal
Article type
Original article
Audience
ScientificPeer-reviewed
Peer-ReviewedMINEDU's publication type classification code
A1 Journal article (refereed), original researchPublication channel information
Volume
11
Article number
100922
ISSN
Publication forum
Publication forum level
1
Open access
Open access in the publisher’s service
Yes
Open access of publication channel
Fully open publication channel
License of the publisher’s version
CC BY
Self-archived
No
Other information
Fields of science
Electronic, automation and communications engineering, electronics
Keywords
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Language
English
International co-publication
No
Co-publication with a company
No
DOI
10.1016/j.prime.2025.100922
The publication is included in the Ministry of Education and Culture’s Publication data collection
Yes