Prospects of hydrogen production potential from renewable resources in Algeria

Hydrogen production from renewable energies is a key part in the energy transition to realize a sustainable energy economy for both developed and developing nations. For Algeria, successful energy transition toward a hydrogen economy will require the establishment of its potential. This study was conducted to estimate the potential for producing hydrogen from renewable resources in Algeria. The renewable energies considered are: solar photovoltaic and wind. To accomplish this objective, first, we analyzed renewable resource data both statistically and graphically using Geographical Information System (GIS), a computer-based information system utilized to create and visualize the spatial distribution of the geographic information. Then, the study will evaluate the availability of renewable electricity production potential from these key renewable resources. The potential for the hydrogen production, via the electrolysis process with wind and solar photovoltaic electricity, is described with maps showing it per unit area in each region. Finally, the results of the estimated hydrogen potential from both resources for each region are compared and significant conclusions are drawn.     

Control design for an autonomous wind based hydrogen production system

This paper presents a complete control scheme to efficiently manage the operation of an autonomous wind based hydrogen production system. This system comprises a wind energy generation module based on a multipolar permanent magnet synchronous generator, a lead-acid battery bank as short term energy storage and an alkaline von Hoerner electrolyzer. The control is developed in two hierarchical levels. The higher control level or supervisor control determines the general operation strategy for the whole system according to the wind conditions and the state of charge of the battery bank. On the other hand, the lower control level includes the individual controllers that regulate the respective module operation assuming the set-points determined by the supervisor control. These last controllers are approached using second-order super-twisting sliding mode techniques. The performance of the closed-loop system is assessed through representative computer simulations.     

Potential of renewable hydrogen production for energy supply in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is highly vulnerable to energy and economic security due to the heavy dependence on imported fossil fuels. The combustion of fossil fuels also causes serious environmental pollution. Therefore, it is important to explore the opportunities for clean renewable energy for long-term energy supply. Hong Kong has the potential to develop clean renewable hydrogen energy to improve the environmental performance. This paper reviews the recent development of hydrogen production technologies, followed by an overview of the renewable energy sources and a discussion about potential applications for renewable hydrogen production in Hong Kong. The results show that although renewable energy resources cannot entirely satisfy the energy demand in Hong Kong, solar energy, wind power, and biomass are available renewable sources for significant hydrogen production. A system consisting of wind turbines and photovoltaic (PV) panels coupled with electrolyzers is a promising design to produce hydrogen. Biomass, especially organic waste, offers an economical, environmental-friendly way for renewable hydrogen production. The achievable hydrogen energy output would be as much as 40% of the total energy consumption in transportation.     

Updated hydrogen production costs and parities for conventional and renewable technologies

This paper provides first a review of the production costs of hydrogen from conventional, nuclear and renewable sources, reported in the literature during the last eight years. In order to analyze the costs on a unified basis, they are updated to a common year (2009), taking into account the yearly inflation rates. The study also considers whether the hydrogen has been produced in centralized or distributed facilities. From these data, the expected future costs for conventional production of hydrogen are calculated considering several scenarios on carbon emission taxations. Based on these estimations, together with the predicted future costs (2019–2020 and 2030) for hydrogen from alternative sources, several hydrogen cost-parity analyses are exposed for renewable and nuclear energies. From the comparison between these alternative technologies for hydrogen production and the conventional ones (steam methane reforming and coal gasification), several predictions on the time-periods to reach cost parities are elaborated.     

Challenges for renewable hydrogen production from biomass

The increasing demand for H₂ for heavy oil upgrading, desulfurization and upgrading of conventional petroleum, and for production of ammonium, in addition to the projected demand for H₂ as a transportation fuel and portable power, will require H₂ production on a massive scale. Increased production of H₂ by current technologies will consume greater amounts of conventional hydrocarbons (primarily natural gas), which in turn will generate greater greenhouse gas emissions. Production of H₂ from renewable sources derived from agricultural or other waste streams offers the possibility to contribute to the production capacity with lower or no net greenhouse gas emissions (without carbon sequestration technologies), increasing the flexibility and improving the economics of distributed and semi-centralized reforming. Electrolysis, thermocatalytic, and biological production can be easily adapted to on-site decentralized production of H₂, circumventing the need to establish a large and costly distribution infrastructure. Each of these H₂ production technologies, however, faces technical challenges, including conversion efficiencies, feedstock type, and the need to safely integrate H₂ production systems with H₂ purification and storage technologies.     

Assessment of renewable energy resources potential in Oman and identification of barrier to their significant utilization

Oman relies on gas and oil resources fuels for almost all of its energy needs. Almost 99% of its power generation is based on natural gas. However, the country's natural gas supplies are currently largely committed, and it may become a net importer soon. Therefore, there is a need to look for alternative energy resources. This paper presents a review of the assessed potential of renewable resources and practical limitations to their considerable use in the perspective of present scenarios and future projections of the national energy for Oman. Solar and wind are likely to play an important role in the future energy in Oman provided that clear policies are established by the higher authority for using renewable energy resources. Rural Areas Electric Company has initiated solar and wind pilot projects in its concession area to confirm the performance and efficiency of renewable technologies in local conditions.     

PEM electrolysis for production of hydrogen from renewable energy sources

PEM electrolysis is a viable alternative for generation of hydrogen from renewable energy sources. Several possible applications are discussed, including grid independent and grid assisted hydrogen generation, use of an electrolyzer for peak shaving, and integrated systems both grid connected and grid independent where electrolytically generated hydrogen is stored and then via fuel cell converted back to electricity when needed. Specific issues regarding the use of PEM electrolyzer in the renewable energy systems are addressed, such as sizing of electrolyzer, intermittent operation, output pressure, oxygen generation, water consumption and efficiency.     

Estimation of electrolytic hydrogen production potential in Venezuela from renewable energies

An initial estimation of the potential for hydrogen (H₂) production in Venezuela is made, obtained by water electrolysis using electricity from renewable sources, taking advantage of the great potential of the country for solar, wind and mini hydro energies. For the first two, its potential maps is obtained from insolation and wind speed maps, respectively, prepared from satellite data, and for mini-hydro, the potential is obtained from documentary information. To calculate the amount of H₂ to produce is used the Higher Heating Value, considering the electrolytic system overall efficiency of 75%, including power requirements of the electrolyzer, auxiliary equipment, and system losses. In addition, in the calculation of usable renewable potential are excluded land areas under special administration, marine, lake and urban areas, and other limitations are considered concerning energy conversion efficiencies and useful areas available for the location of the different renewable technologies.     

Education and training in renewable energy sources in Serbia and Montenegro

This paper reports the status of Education and Training in Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in Serbia and Montenegro (SAM) at the end of May 2003. It was found that universities in SAM do not give diplomas in RES. RES subjects primarily solar and wind energy are taught at graduate levels. RES units are taught as a part of some classical engineering disciplines at undergraduate level especially in solar and biomass energy. Teaching is mainly at encyclopedic level and staff is mainly trained in general fields. This education may be regarded as unsatisfactory and should be expanded and intensified in future.     

A technical and economical assessment of hydrogen production potential from solar energy in Morocco

In this study, a techno-economic analysis of the capacity of Morocco to produce hydrogen from solar energy has been conducted. For this reason, a Photovoltaic-electrolyze system was selected and the electricity and hydrogen production were simulated for 76 sites scattered all over the country. The Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI) data used for the simulation were extracted from the CAMS-Rad satellite database and meteorological stations at ground level.Before simulations, the accuracy of the GHI values from the satellite dataset has been checked, and their uncertainties was calculated against accurate data measured in-situ. After that, the simulated values of the hydrogen mass were interpolated using a GIS software to create a Hydrogen production map of Morocco. Finally, an economical investigation of electricity and hydrogen production costs has been conducted by calculating the $LCOE$ and $LC{O}_{H_2}$.Results show that the satellite dataset has a mean average deviation of 6.8% which is a very acceptable error rang. Also, it was found that Morocco have a high potential for hydrogen production, with a daily annual production that varies between 6489 and 8308 Tons/km². Moreover, the cost of electricity and hydrogen production in the country are in the range of 0.077–0.099 $/kWh and 5.79–4.64 $/Kg respectively.The findings of this study are with high importance as they provide an overall perspective of the country potential of hydrogen production for policy makers and investors, and it was motivated by the lack of information on the subject in the literature since it's, at the best of our knowledge, the first study assessing the hydrogen production from solar for the whole country.     

Study of the carbonation–calcination reaction applied to the hydrogen production from syngas

In the last years the interest in hydrogen as an energy carrier is significantly increased both for vehicle fuelling and stationary energy production by fuel cells. The benefits of a hydrogen energy policy are the reduction of the greenhouse effect and the centralization of the emission sources. Moreover, an improvement to the environmental benefits can be achieved if hydrogen is produced from renewable sources, as biomass.     

Economic viability and production capacity of wind generated renewable hydrogen

Generally, wind to power conversion is calculated by assuming the quality of wind as measured with a Weibull probability distribution at wind speed during power generation. We build on this method by modifying the Weibull distributions to reflect the actual range of wind speeds and wind energy density. This was combined with log law that modifies wind speed based on the height from the ground, to derive the wind power potential at windy sites. The study also provides the Levelized cost of renewable energy and hydrogen conversion capacity at the proposed sites. We have also electrolyzed the wind-generated electricity to measure the production capacity of renewable hydrogen. We found that all the sites considered are commercially viable for hydrogen production from wind-generated electricity. Wind generated electricity cost varies from $0.0844 to $0.0864 kW h, and the supply cost of renewable hydrogen is $5.30 to $ 5.80/kg-H₂. Based on the findings, we propose a policy on renewable hydrogen fueled vehicles so that the consumption of fossil fuels could be reduced. This paper shall serve as a complete feasibility study on renewable hydrogen production and utilization.     

Hydrogen production and End-Uses from combined heat,hydrogen and power system by using local resources

To address the problem of fossil fuel usage at the Missouri University of Science and Technology campus, using of alternative fuels and renewable energy sources can lower energy consumption and hydrogen use. Biogas, produced by anaerobic digestion of wastewater, organic waste, agricultural waste, industrial waste, and animal by-products is a potential source of renewable energy. In this work, we have discussed Hydrogen production and End-Uses from CHHP system for the campus using local resources. Following the resource assessment study, the team selects FuelCell Energy DFC1500™ unit as a molten carbonate fuel cell to study of combined heat, hydrogen and power (CHHP) system based on a molten carbonate fuel cell fed by biogas produced by anaerobic digestion. The CHHP system provides approximately 650 kg/day. The total hydrogen usage 123 kg/day on the university campus including personal transportation applications, backup power applications, portable power applications, and other mobility applications are 56, 16, 29, 17, and 5 respectively. The excess hydrogen could be sold to a gas retailer. In conclusion, the CHHP system will be able to reduce fossil fuel usage, greenhouse gas emissions and hydrogen generated is used to power different applications on the university campus.     

Assessment of solar and wind energy as motive for potential hydrogen production of Algeria country; development a methodology for uses hydrogen-based fuel cells

This study is based on method of storing the part of renewable energy in the hydrogen form for using in a fuel cell at the absence of solar radiation due to overcast day or in the night. In addition, the system advantage don't need a batteries compared with other systems. The present work is compared energy potential of the wind and solar with the results of hydrogen production and to address the various obstacles to study and evaluation. This work is assessment the renewable resources in various sites of Algeria, especially in Adrar area which is one regions of the high solar energy in the world, where the radiation rates exceed more than $2300kWh/m^2$ per year, the area is also characterized by high wind power. In fact, by these two energy sources (solar and wind) that it characterized by Adrar, it's interesting to combine electrical producing energy and hydrogen production. The studies indicate that there are the meteorological factors related to the nature of site (irradiation, temperature and wind speed) are linked to the generation of electricity by renewable energy. The results obtained showing that the hydrogen production related to the solar radiation values, where southern of Algeria has more hydrogen potential compared with the northern. The simulation results show that the energy supplied by a photovoltaic module type UDTS 50 can supply energy for ten electrolyzer cells which are connected in series with this module.     

Decision-making between a grid extension and a rural renewable off-grid system with hydrogen generation

Most populations in rural Africa have no access to electricity, in this study, a comparative analysis between grid extension and the implementation of renewable off-grid hybrid power system is carried out. The objective of the study is to determine the best feasible option. Napier, a farming village in the Western Cape province of South Africa was selected as the site for the comparative analysis and HOMER PRO software was used to develop an optimal system using the wind and solar resources of the selected site. The load profile considered in the analysis includes lighting, cooking and hot water demands. The best feasible option is determined based on the Net Present Cost of each feasible scenario. Sensitivity analysis on the current cost and the projected cost of hydrogen storage w conducted to observe the impact of the cost of hydrogen storage on the renewable off-grid system cost of energy.     

Production of hydrogen from renewable resources and its effectiveness

At present, hydrogen is used mainly in a chemical industry for production of ammonia and methanol. In the near future, hydrogen will become a significant fuel which can solve the local problems connected with an air quality. Because the hydrogen is most widespread component on the Earth, it can be obtained from a number of sources, both renewable and non-renewable, moreover, by various processes. Pure hydrogen can be acquired by the energy-demanding electrolysis of water. Global production has so far been dominated by hydrogen production from fossil fuels, with the most significant contemporary technologies being the reforming of hydrocarbons, pyrolysis and co-pyrolysis. In the near future, biological method can be used.     

Solar receiver/reactor for hydrogen production with biomass gasification in supercritical water

A novel receiver/reactor driven by concentrating solar energy for hydrogen production by supercritical water gasification (SCWG) of biomass was designed, constructed and tested. Model compound (glucose) and real biomass (corncob) were successfully gasified under SCW conditions to generate hydrogen-rich fuel gas in the apparatus. It is found that the receiver/reactor temperature increased with the increment of the direct normal solar irradiation (DNI). Effects of the DNI, the flow rates and concentration of the feedstocks as well as alkali catalysts addition were investigated. The results showed that DNI and flow rates of reactants have prominent effects on the temperature of reactor wall and gasification results. Higher DNI and lower feed concentrations favor the biomass gasification for hydrogen production. The encouraging results indicate a promising approach for hydrogen production with biomass gasification in supercritical water using concentrated solar energy.     

Toward the clean production of hydrogen: Competition among renewable energy sources and nuclear power

This study elucidates the competition among renewable and nuclear energy sources for the production of hydrogen. These involve the use of solar, wind, biological process, tidal, geothermal and nuclear power to generate hydrogen. A comprehensive economic model, the Taiwan General Equilibrium Model-Clean Energy (TAIGEM-CE) model, is used for forecasting. Based on certain assumptions, the analytical results reveal that the most promising means of generating hydrogen is using wind power. Geothermal power is the most sensitive to external investment as a source of power for producing hydrogen. Solar hydrogen also benefits greatly from investment. Production of biohydrogen will be favorable without external investment, and they are less sensitive to investment than other renewable energy sources. Based on the assumptions made in this study, nuclear energy is not as competitive as most renewable energy sources for hydrogen production.     

Analysis of hydrogen production from combined photovoltaics, wind energy and secondary hydroelectricity supply in Brazil

In this work, the technical and economical feasibility for implementing a hypothetical electrolytic hydrogen production plant, powered by electrical energy generated by alternative renewable power sources, wind and solar, and conventional hydroelectricity, was studied mainly trough the analysis of the wind and solar energy potentials for the northeast of Brazil. The hydrogen produced would be exported to countries which do not presently have significant renewable energy sources, but are willing to introduce those sources in their energy system. Hydrogen production was evaluated to be around 56.26 × 10⁶ m³ H₂/yr at a cost of 10.3 US$/kg.     

Forecasting hydrogen production potential in islamabad from solar energy using water electrolysis

The focus of this study is the use of Machine Learning methods to forecast Solar Hydrogen production potential for the Islamabad region of Pakistan. For this purpose, we chose a Photovoltaic-Electrolytic (PV-E) system to forecast electricity and, hence, hydrogen production. The weather data used for forecasting and simulation were recorded with precise meteorological instruments stationed in Islamabad, over the course of 13 and a half months. Out of the three tested algorithms, Prophet performs the best with Mean Absolute Percentage Error of 3.7%, forecasting a daily average Hydrogen production of 93.3 × 10³ kg/Km². Although, the forecast in this study is made for the month of August and September, during which the local season moves towards winter, this study demonstrates solar hydrogen production, as a green energy source, has a tremendous potential in this region.