Potential Role of green hydrogen as an energy carrier in smart energy system communities

Abstract

Abstract Smart energy systems refer to the use of advanced technologies and systems to optimize the generation, distribution, and consumption of energy. The main goal of such a concept is to create an intelligent energy infrastructure based mostly on sustainable solutions namely renewable generations. Notwithstanding, renewable energy resources by their nature are unprogrammable. The main challenge is to balance properly the demand and supply curve To do so, various interventions should be employed to improve the reliability of the system (namely: real-time energy consumption monitoring to optimize energy efficiency and integration of energy storage systems). The final outcome is significant energy saving as well as cost reduction and cutting carbon footprint. Hydrogen is mostly refers to as ‘future fuel’ due to its marvellous properties. It is an energy carrier that is characterized by water and heat as byproducts of combustion. Furthermore, it can be used in a variety of applications, including transportation, power generation, and industrial processes. It can be used in fuel cells to power electric vehicles or blended directly with natural gas to reduce GHG emissions. The current work investigates the potential role of Hydrogen inside a smart energy system on a community scale. Various contributions are defined for Hydrogen inside a community featuring power to gas, power to vehicles or blending into NG. The layout is composed of hybrid electric, thermal and cooling power generation which is integrated with storage systems. At the end of the simulation, various scenarios are compared to each other in terms of energy performance, economic indicators and environmental impacts to carry out the best suitable option.