Development of an efficient interfacing system between wind farms and electrolysers for green hydrogen production

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master_Koskelo_Miska_2024.pdf (8.33 MB)

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School of Electrical Engineering | Master's thesis
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Date

2024-10-08

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Major/Subject

Electrical Power and Energy Engineering

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Degree programme

Master's Programme in Automation and Electrical Engineering

Language

en

Pages

60

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Abstract

Alongside the increasing global energy demand, the transition from fossil based energy sources towards renewable energy sources poses great challenges to the energy industry. The benefits of the energy sources that are phased out include high adaptability and controllability of electricity generation, while the control and prediction of renewable generation is challenging to meet the demand. Hence, the produced electric power must be stored for later use. Hydrogen as an energy storage serves as a beneficial solution due to its high energy potential and storage stability. However, the production efficiency of green hydrogen is suboptimal. Multiple electrolyser technologies and optimal power electric converters to supply them have been researched, but control of these systems has not been adapted to real-world applications with wind power. Here, I have applied a novel control method to a simulated interfacing system wind power generation and proton exchange membrane electrolyser stacks to improve the efficiency and hence reduce the cost of green hydrogen production. The model was created and simulated in MATLAB/Simulink environment, which used to measure output values of the electrolyser to calculate the production rate of hydrogen. The generation efficiency of the simulated system was compared to theory and to presently dominating hydrogen production methods. Ifoundthatapplication ofthesuggestedcontrolyieldedan efficiencyofroughly 40% when considering the electrical input- to the chemical output power. Although the measured production efficiencies were significantly lower than theoretical maxima and the competing methods, the simulation proved, that these control systems can be utilized in green hydrogen production to optimize the use of renewable energy sources. Furthermore, these control systems are expected to improve the overall efficiency of the energy economy, with implementation of more sophisticated control parameters.

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Supervisor

Pouresmaeil, Edris

Thesis advisor

Pouresmaeil, Edris

Keywords

electrolysers, green hydrogen, power converters, power systems, renewable energy sources, wind power

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202411217380

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[dipl] Sähkötekniikan korkeakoulu / ELEC