Hydrogen Energy Storage Systems for Grid and Community Applications

Hydrogen energy storage systems can provide multiple energy services, including bulk storage for grid support, ancillary services, and distributed energy storage for vehicle refueling or other end uses. Each of these services is reviewed in this article, drawing upon a variety of studies to characterize or quantify each service. The distributed storage discussion elaborates on a case study of distributed PV-connected distributed storage to supply hydrogen to fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). Cost estimates consider hourly and seasonal prices and demand fluctuations and draw comparisons to distributed PV electricity supply for battery electric vehicles (BEVs). The analysis suggests that distributed hydrogen storage systems can be economically competitive with battery electricity storage for vehicles at larger scales. Keywords: hydrogen; storage; fuel cell electric vehicles; community energy; distributed PV; ancillary services; energy arbitrage