Preface

The two most important environmental hazards faced by humankind today are air pollution and
global warming. Both have a direct link with our current overdependence on fossil fuels. Pollutants
produced from combustion of hydrocarbons now cause even more health problems due to the
urbanization of world population. The net increase in environmental carbon dioxide from
combustion is a suspect cause for global warming, which is endangering the Earth— the only
known place to support human life. In addition, the import of expensive hydrocarbon fuel has
become a heavy burden on many countries, causing political and economic unrest. If we look at the
past 2000 years' history of fuels, usage has consistently moved in the direction of a cleaner fuel:
wood coal petroleum propane methane. With time, the fuel molecule has become smaller,
leaner in carbon, and richer in hydrogen. The last major move was to methane, which is a much
cleaner burn than gasoline. Our future move is expected to be to hydrogen, which has the
potential to solve both the environmental hazards faced by humankind. Through its reaction with
oxygen, hydrogen intensely releases energy in combustion engines or quietly releases it in fuel cells
to produce water as its only by-product. There is no emission of smoke, CO, CO2, NOx, Sox, or O3.
In fact, the health costs for urban populations can be reduced by switching to hydrogen
automobiles. Hydrogen can be produced from water using a variety of energy sources including
solar, wind, nuclear, biomass, petroleum, natural gas, and coal. Since renewable energy sources
(solar, wind, and/or biomass) are available in all parts of the world, all countries will have access to
hydrogen fuel. Hence, a greater democratization of energy resources will occur. Also, the use of
solar, wind, or biomass in producing hydrogen does not add to environmental CO2. Before wide
scale use of hydrogen fuel can be accomplished, key technological challenges need to be resolved,
including cost-effective production and storage of hydrogen. During the early adoption of
hydrogen fuel, government incentives will be needed, which may be recovered from savings in the
health care expenditures and carbon credits. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES Hydrogen atom is the lightest
element, with its most common isotope consisting of only one proton and one electron. Hydrogen
atoms readily form H2 molecules, which are smaller in size when compared to most other
molecules. The molecular form, simply referred to as hydrogen is colourless, odourless, and
tasteless and is about 14 times lighter than air, and diffuses faster than any other gas. On cooling,
hydrogen condenses to liquid at " 253°C and to solid at " 259°C. may be produced artificially by
various nuclear reactions. The ionization potential of hydrogen atom is 13.54 V.
Abstract
The global energy transition towards a carbon neutral society requires a profound transformation
of electricity generation and consumption, as well as of electric power systems. Hydrogen has an
important potential to accelerate the process of scaling up clean and renewable energy, however
its integration in power systems remains little studied. This paper reviews the current progress and
outlook of hydrogen technologies and their application in power systems for hydrogen production,
re-electrification and storage. The characteristics of electrolysers and fuel cells are demonstrated
with experimental data and the deployments of hydrogen for energy storage, power-to-gas, co-
and tri-generation and transportation are investigated using examples from worldwide projects.
The current techno-economic status of these technologies and applications is presented, in which
cost, efficiency and durability are identified as the main critical aspects. This is also confirmed by
the results of a statistical analysis of the literature. Finally, conclusions show that continuous
efforts on performance improvements, scale ramp-up, technical prospects and political support
are required to enable a cost-competitive hydrogen economy. Appearance and recognition
Abstract

Table of content

Introduction and definitions

1.1 Introduction
1.2 Hydrogen technologies
1.2.1 Electrolytic hydrogen production
1.2.2. Water electrolysis principle
1.2.3. Water electrolysis technologies
1.2.4. Electrolyser system structure
1.2.5. Electrolyser electrical characteristics
1.3. Hydrogen re-electrification
1.3.1. Fuel cell operation principle
1.3.2. Fuel cell technologies
1.3.3. Fuel cell system structure
1.3.4. Fuel cell electrical characteristics
1.4. Hydrogen storage
1.4.1. Compressed gas
1.4.2. Underground hydrogen storage
1.4.3. Liquid hydrogen
1.4.4. Solid storage
1.5. Converters

2 Applications in power system

2.1 Energy storage
2.1.1. Medium to long-term energy storage
2.1.2. Ancillary services
2.2. Power-to-gas
2.3. Co- and tri-generation
2.3.1. Co-generation
2.3.2. Tri-generation
3.1. Application Of Hydrogen In Transportation
4.1. Capital cost
4.2. Hydrogen production cost
4.3. Consumption of water
4.4. Consumption of rare materials
4.5. Environmental impact
4.6. Efficiency and durability
5. conclusion

References
 Introduction and definitions
1.1 Introduction

1. Introduction
Although a considerable part of the global energy demand is currently served by fossil fuels,
the harmful impacts of the combustion of fossil fuels are unignorable : greenhouse gas, acid
rain, etc., which are devastating to the environment and human beings. To this end, global
energy transformation is gaining momentum, which is accelerated by the rapid development of
using renewable energy. To enhance this momentum and to mitigate emissions, hydrogen has
been explored as a substitute energy carrier, while generating electricity from hydrogen using
a fuel cell causes no local pollution because the only byproduct is pure water. Another
advantage of hydrogen lies in its high specific energy density. It can provide three times more
energy than gasoline combustion per unit mass ]. Also, hydrogen can be locally produced,
which reduces countries’ dependence on external energy suppliers. Besides, hydrogen can be
extracted from an extensive range of substances, such as water, oil, gas, biofuels, sewage
sludge, etc. In particular, the abundance of water on earth assures the production of hydrogen
in a rather sustainable way. Splitting water by electrolysis offers promising opportunities for
synergy with the renewable energy. The hydrogen can be produced before it is used due to the
intermittent nature of some renewable energy resources so that it is suitable for distributed
production and centralised production connected directly to the remote renewable resources.
The hydrogen produced from an electrolyser is perfect for use with fuel cells. Stationary fuel
cell technologies also facilitate the development of distributed power backup, stand-alone
power plants and co-generation. It provides a substituted option of the traditional power grid
because combined with a fuel cell, the electricity can be produced when and where it is needed
so that the hydrogen does not necessarily to be stored.
Advances of integrating hydrogen in power systems have been gradually made in recent years
ranging from production and storage to re-electrification and safety issues. Extensive
descriptions of the existing progress can be found elsewhere and a number of studies are
seeking to characterise the current progress in hydrogen system integration by novel methods .
A wide consensus has been reached that producing hydrogen from renewable energy sources
(solar, wind, etc.) shows great promise for the world’s sustainable development . Chi et al.
have pointed out that changing the hydrogen production by using renewable electricity can
enhance the inter conversion of electricity and hydrogen and expand the hydrogen application.
Numerous researches on renewable hydrogen production technologies were launched and
have generated great interest . Producing hydrogen from renewables using photocatalysis have
been reviewed in and , in which the solar energy is used for water-splitting. Wang et al. have
focused on the intensification technologies on the component level to save the energy
consumption in the hydrogen production . On the system level, several advanced cutting-edge
power-to-gas projects have been reviewed and investigated. Electrolysis and methanation
status in terms of the cost and the capacity have been reviewed in for power-to-gas
applications, while the effects of hydrogen injection on the gas infrastructure and gas quality .
As most power-to-gas plants are located next to remote renewable energy sources, it requires
the produced hydrogen to be stored and then fed to the gas distribution system, therefore,
researches have been launched to improve the hydrogen storage capability . Abe et al. pointed
out that the current hydrogen storage technologies had not fully satisfied the technoeconomic
feasibility and further investigations on solid hydrogen storage are demanding . The security
issue of hydrogen storage and delivery were studied in , as well as the reliability of the
presently available technologies. A detailed review of utilising hydrides for hydrogen storage
in stationary and transportation applications is found in .
It is noticed that recent reviews have stated the importance of integrating hydrogen in power
systems, however, they tend to focus on specific hydrogen technologies. Some reviews have
acknowledged the undertaking of hydrogen in various power systems. For example, Mazloomi
et al. have discussed the prospects and challenges of hydrogen as an energy carrier while
explaining current hydrogen production technologies and cost potentials, while discussions on
the system level are lacking. Hanley et al. They have analysed the role of hydrogen in the
future economy based on eight existing hydrogen powered system models. The prospects of
hydrogen penetration and decarbonisation are stated, however, key hydrogen technologies and
the current progress of developing hydrogen technologies have not been fully addressed. Parra
et al. They have analysed the current progress of hydrogen energy system from the points-
ofview of cost, products, applications and control strategies, but lack detailed insights into the
current development status of the hydrogen technologies and their evolution. Besides,
challenges in terms of technological and social aspects are not discussed, while integrating
hydrogen in power systems requires significant investment and intensive coordination in both
research and social aspects.
This paper is devoted to treating hydrogen powered energy systems as a whole and analysing
the role of hydrogen in the energy systems. As hydrogen has become an important intermediary
for the energy transition and it can be produced from renewable energy sources, re-electrified
to provide electricity and heat, as well as stored for future use, key technologies including
water electrolysis, fuel cells, hydrogen storage and their system structures are introduced in this
paper, in which the characteristics are described by the corresponding models and experimental
results. It provides general explanations for readers who are not or partly engaged in different
hydrogen technology fields. Moreover, four principle hydrogen integrated applications
including energy storage, power-to-gas applications, co- and trigeneration and transportation
are introduced and interpreted by remarkable projects. Current status on hydrogen applications
is analysed statistically in terms of cost, consumption, efficiency and durability, which justifies
the need of further progress in the related technologies. The current status is also illustrated by
the level of research based on the literature survey across the time. Last but not least, this paper
critically discusses the perspectives of developing hydrogen integrated energy systems in terms
of performance, ramping-up scales, technical perspectives and social and political implications.
.

1.2 Hydrogen technologies

Some hydrogen technologies that are typically used in hydrogen power systems are introduced
in this section. They include electrolytic hydrogen production, hydrogen re-electrification using
fuel cell, hydrogen storage and converter technologies. The characteristics of these
technologies are presented and demonstrated by some experimental results.
 1.2.1 Electrolytic hydrogen production
Hydrogen production methods like steam reforming, coal gasification and electrolysis of water
are majorly used today for industrial hydrogen production. Other hydrogen production
methods like reforming ethanol and sugars, water bio photolysis, photochemical water splitting
and high-temperature water splitting are still in the stage of development and are rarely
industrially deployed. Today, with the declining cost for renewable electricity, there is a
growing interest in water electrolytic hydrogen production, which consumes electricity to
extract hydrogen from water while causing no carbon byproducts like CO2.

1.2.2. Water electrolysis principle

In a water electrolysis cell, two electrodes are put in the electrolyte solution and are connected
to the power supply to conduct current, as shown in the figure. When a sufficiently high
voltage is applied between the electrodes, water is decomposed to produce hydrogen on the
cathode and oxygen on the anode. The addition of an electrolyte raises the conductivity of the
water, which facilitates the continuous flow of electricity. Acids and solid polymer electrolytes
are commonly used in water electrolysis, and use different ions as charge carriers: H+, OH−,
O2−, etc. The reactions of water electrolysis at the electrodes with different charge carriers may
be different, but the overall reaction is always the same:(1)2 H2O+electricity+heat→2H2+O 2

Water electrolysis principle: Two electrodes are placed in the electrolyte solution, which are
connected to the power supply to conduct current. Water is decomposed into pure hydrogen
and oxygen gas, appearing at the cathode and the anode, respectively.

1.2.3. Water electrolysis technologies

Three principal types of electrolysers and their characteristics are summarised in table. AELs
have the dominant place in today’s electrolyser market and have been developing for many
years. SOELs can split water at very high temperatures and they do not need as much
electricity as that of other types of electrolysers. The efficiency of SOELs is, therefore, high.
PEMELs are quickly gaining momentum in recent years and large PEMELs are now being
commercialised. They can benefit from their low gas permeability, high proton conductivity,
thin proton exchange membranes, and good compactness. Moreover, PEMELs can be operated
with high efficiency at high power density, fast response, relatively low operating temperature,
small footprint and balance of plant (BOP) simplicity .

1.2.4. Electrolyser system structure

The electrolyser stack consists of several individual cells, which are connected in series so that
it can reach a rather high voltage even if each individual cell has a low voltage (approximately
2 V). Moreover, electrolyser systems with stacks connected in parallel are able to reach a
multi-MW scale with relatively low voltage (up to a few kV) given a high current density . To
make the system operational, a power supply unit and the BOP are also necessary, as shown in
figure. The produced gases enter into gas separators where they are separated from water and
then being purified and dried. A pump is used to pump the electrolyte through the electrolyser
cells and the heat exchanger is used to reach the operating temperature. A transformer and a
rectifier in the power supply unit are used to feed direct power into the electrolyser stack.

Electrolyser system structure: The electrolyser is connected to the power supply through an
AC/DC power converter and are connected to the gas–water separators and purification/drying
systems to separate out pure hydrogen and oxygen gas. The supplied water is stored in the gas–
water separator and is pumped into the electrolyser.
 1.2.5. Electrolyser electrical characteristics

Polarisation curve of a 33-cell 5 kW PEMEL with an active area of 700 cm2, comparing with
the model identification.

Power and efficiency curves of a 33-cell 5 kW PEMEL with an active area of 700 cm2:

Increasing the current will raise the supplied power, however, it will sacrifice the efficiency.
Figure shows the power and efficiency curves versus the applied current. The stack voltage
efficiency which is the ratio between its reversible voltage and operation voltage:

Durability refers to the ability of a material to offer its performance for a long period
without significant deterioration by resisting the effects of use and ageing. The
durability of a plastic does not depend on the origin of the feedstock, but on the type
 of chemical structure of the polymer and on the conditions the plastic is subjected to.
Bio-PE and bio-PET have the same durability as fossil-based PE and PET.

Sometimes, plastic materials are referred to as durable, as opposite to biodegradable.

However, it may be noted that f.i. PLA can be durable at indoor conditions (life span
of 10 – 20 years) and biodegradable at industrial composting conditions.

“Sustainability is defined as a requirement of our generation to manage the resource

base such that the average quality of life that we ensure ourselves can potentially be
shared by all future generations. Development is sustainable if it involves a non-
decreasing average quality of life” (Asheim, 1994).

1.3. Hydrogen re-electrification

Hydrogen re-electrification refers to the generation of electricity from hydrogen.
Hydrogen can first be re-electrified through combustion. Similar to internal
combustion engines running on gasoline, some combustion engines or turbines can
also run directly on hydrogen. However, hydrogen combustion engines are less
efficient than gasoline combustion engines, with a thermodynamic efficiency of
around 20%–25% . This is due to the fact that hydrogen has relatively a low
volumetric energy density. Besides, when combusting hydrogen, nitrogen oxides are
emitted even though no CO2 is released. Compared to hydrogen combustion engines,
using fuel cell is a preferable way to maximise the potential benefits of hydrogen as
fuel cells convert the chemical energy of hydrogen into electrical energy directly so
that their efficiency can reach 60%–80%, with only water as a byproduct . Fuel cells
are now commercially applied in a variety of stationary and transportation
applications.

1.3.1. Fuel cell operation principle

The fuel cell is supplied with hydrogen at the anode where ionisation occurs to release
electrons and H+ ions and it is supplied with air on the cathode where negative ions are
produced, as shown in figure. Similar to electrolysers, different fuel cell types differs in their
charge transfer directions and charge carriers in the electrolyte so that the water may be
produced on both sides. The process is facilitated by using catalyst, which is usually carbon
materials coated with platinum. Although different charge carries lead to different reactions on
the electrodes, the overall reaction is always the same:(8)2 H2+O2→2H2O+electricity+heat
Fuel cell operation principle: Hydrogen and oxygen are passed through the anode and the
cathode, respectively, and water molecules are produced by combining protons, electrons and
oxygen at the cathode.

1.3.2. Fuel cell technologies

Different types of fuel cell work with different types of electrolytes. Their characteristics are
summarised in table. The following focuses on the PEMFC as it can be operated with a rather
low temperature and it has gained a lot of interests in both transport and stationary applications.

Table. Comparison of different types of fuel cells in their operation temperature, stack voltage efficiency and
pros and cons.

Types Operating Stack Pros and cons

temperature voltage
efficiency

Proton 80 °C–100 °C 50%–60%

exchange Pros: fast start-up,
(low temp.) or 200
membrane widely used in
°C (high temp.)
fuel transport and
cell
(PEMFC) stationary
applications. Cons:
expensive catalyst.

Solid oxide fuel 800 °C–1000 ° 60%–80%

cell C Pros: solid
electrolyte, reusable
(SOFC) heat and lower cost.
Cons: issues with
Types Operating Stack Pros and cons
temperature voltage
efficiency

metal corrosion.
Alkaline fuel cell Around 70 °C Around
(AFC) 60% Pros: good current
response. Cons:
used mostly for
space applications.

Molten Around 650 °C 60%–80%

Pros:
carbonate good
conductivity
fuelcell (MCFC)
and high
current density.
Cons: only used in
large-scale
stationary
applications due to
slow start-up.

Phosphoric Around 180 °C Over 80%

acid fuel cell Pros: high efficiency
with heat
(PAFC) cogeneration. Cons:
low current density
and high catalysts
cost.
Fuel cell system structure: Hydrogen and air are compressed and humidified into the fuel cell
stack and the produced power is supplied to the load through an AC/DC power converter.

1.3.3. Fuel cell system structure

A fuel cell system consists of a stack and its auxiliaries including a hydrogen tank, pumps, an
air compressor, power electronics, a thermal management system, etc., as shown in the figure.
A fuel cell can generate 0.6 V to 0.8 V nominal voltage at nominal load, while the stack
voltage can be upgraded by increasing the number of cells. Similar to electrolysers, fuel cell
stacks can be connected in parallel to increase the output current so as to reach multi-MW
scales. Besides, the current can also be raised by increasing the active area of cells. The fuel
cell system also has some auxiliaries, for example, the air is supplied by a compressor powered
by a motor and the hydrogen is supplied using a pressurised tank where the flow and the
pressure of the hydrogen are controlled. In addition, a cooler is used to cool off the compressed
air and a humidifier is used to prevent the membrane dehydration . The generated DC power
can be then inverted to AC power and distributed to the grid.
Fuel cell electrical characteristics

Polarisation curve of a 5-cell 300 W PEMFC stack with an active area of 100 cm2, comparing
with the model identification.

Power and efficiency curves of a 5-cell 300 W PEMFC stack with an active area of 100 cm2:
Increasing the current will raise the delivered power by the fuel cell, however, it will sacrifice
the efficiency.
Different technologies of hydrogen storage.

In fact, the maximum efficiency of the fuel cell is found to be achieved at partial load.
Decreasing the current density below its maximum power density value helps to decrease the
cell voltage loss and therefore, to increase its efficiency . Efforts have been made on the
system level to make the fuel cell operated in its maximum efficiency region through system
control and strategy design.

1.4. Hydrogen storage

The high mass-based energy density of hydrogen makes it one of the most promising
future fuels. Hydrogen contains 33.33 kWh energy per kilo, compared to 12 kWh of
petrol and diesel. However, storing the same amount of hydrogen requires a larger
volume. The development of hydrogen storage technologies is, therefore, a
fundamental premise for hydrogen powered energy systems. Conventional technologies
store the hydrogen as compressed gas and cryogenic liquid, while for large-scale
applications, underground storage turns out to be a preferable method. In recent years,
solid-state hydrogen storage has seen rapid development and is believed to be the
safest hydrogen storage mode. Different technologies of hydrogen storage have been
summarised in the figure.

1.4.1. Compressed gas

To store more hydrogen a smaller volume, being compressed to high pressure is one of the
options. The most common way of storing hydrogen is to compress it into steel gas cylinders
under a pressure of up to 700 bar. shows the evolution of hydrogen density as a function of
pressure. By compressing the hydrogen gas under 700 bar, it reaches a volumetric density of 36
kg/m3. It can be realised in the state-of-the-art lightweight composite steel highpressure gas
cylinder. Compressed hydrogen storage is widely used when transporting hydrogen through
hydrogen pipeline and hydrogen tube trailer, however, the capability of transport is largely
limited by the weight of the gas cylinder. Lighter materials that can be used to compress
hydrogen at high pressures are under development . Another technological issue to be solved
may be the heat transfer process during compressing. As the temperature rises inside the tank,
composite degradation may take place and cause a severe consequence. Researches on high
thermal conductivity materials and structural design have been deployed to improve the heat
transfer behaviour.

Hydrogen density evolution at different temperatures and pressures.

1.4.2. Underground hydrogen storage

Various solutions have been proposed for large-scale hydrogen storage. Except for the buried
tanks compressing hydrogen in gas and liquid, hydrogen underground storage solutions, such
as aquifers, depleted deposits of natural gas and oil and salt caverns are the principal choices
for large-scale hydrogen storage in medium and long term. The first two types are of porous
structure and their capacity may be influenced by the geological conditions. Most underground
hydrogen storage of the world is in depleted deposits, approximately 75% . In recent years, salt
caverns have seen great interests in storing hydrogen gas owing to their stability and
imperviousness of their walls of salt caverns. The volume of a salt cavern can range from
100,000 to 1000,000 m3 working at a maximum pressure of 200 bar However, the
development of salt cavern hydrogen storage is limited by some technical aspects where the
tightness of the boreholes and the transfer capacity of the surface installation are of significant
importance. Besides, environmental limitations and sustainable development should also be
taken into consideration when making location plans

1.4.3. Liquid hydrogen

As hydrogen can be converted into its liquid form at a low temperature (20–21 K) and ambient
pressure, liquid hydrogen is another way to store hydrogen in a small volume and the realised
volumetric density can reach 70.8 kg/m3, liquefaction process energy is lost during the liquefaction
process. At the moment, liquid hydrogen is reserved for special high-tech applications, e.g. space
travel, and has not yet i.e. 70.6 kg/m3. However, it is time and energy-consuming to liquefy the
hydrogen while about 40% been largely commercialised.

1.4.4. Solid storage

Despite the above-mentioned physical-based hydrogen storage technologies, solid hydrogen is
another option that is realised by combining hydrogen with solid materials through absorption
and adsorption. Absorption stores the hydrogen directly into the bulk of the material to
formulate chemical compounds. Among them, metal hydrides have aroused more and more
interest owing to their high hydrogen storage capacity. Palladium, for example, can absorb 900
times its own volume of hydrogen at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. A detailed
review of using various metal hydrides materials can be found in and mathematical studies of
sorption/desorption process modelling in metal-hydride systems are detailed in. The dynamic
system simulation models have been investigated in and, which simulate the high-pressure
metal hydride bed and the heat exchange in vehicles. For large-scale development of metal
hydrides, efforts have been made towards lowering the cost, optimising the operation
temperature and enhancing the thermal management of the system.
Besides, there are also complex hydrides (Mg2NiH4, LiAlH4, NaBH4, etc.) and chemical
hydrides (LiH, NaH, CaH2, etc.) that store the hydrogen by absorption, however, the lack of
reversibility and the complex reactions to extract hydrogen are the main challenges of these
methods. Another choice of storing hydrogen is by adsorption, which physically adsorbs
hydrogen using porous materials, such as metal–organic frameworks and carbon materials.
The advantage of this option is that they can avoid thermal management in the charging and
discharging process. However, the physical adsorption hydrogen storage is still far away from
large commercialisation as the filling time is still under satisfaction when considering the
storage capacity.

1.5. Converters
In hydrogen powered energy systems, it is the power electronic converters that link
the different parts in terms of hydrogen production and utilisation. For example,
DC/DC converters are applied to step down the external delivered voltage to the level
of the supply voltage of the electrolyser, and to level up the DC voltage of the fuel cell
with high voltage gain. In addition, DC/AC rectifiers and inverters are applied when
the electrolyser and the fuel cell are connected to the grid. A typical structure of a
distributed hydrogen powered energy system with power conversion is shown in the
figure .
To ensure the proper operation of hydrogen power systems, the converters must be
featured with flexible voltage ratio, high conversion efficiency and low current ripples.
Different topologies of converters have been investigated in stationary power applications
and vehicle applications . For example, soft switching techniques for fuel cell applications
have been proposed i. It has achieved 95% boost converter efficiency at full fuel cell load.
A comparative study in has found out that other converter topology, such as interleaved
half-bridge DC/DC buck converters, can effectively improve the converter performance in
electrolyser applications in terms of cost, efficiency and reliability. Studies also found
that compared with conventional single phase converters, multi-phase interleaved
converters can reduce the switching losses and mitigate the current ripples as they can
share the current between different legs of the converter. Besides, isolated topology is
believed to be a favourable way to maximise efficiency and reduce the cost, whereas the
input of the converter is electrically insulated to the output. The voltage can be easily
stepped up and down through an optimally sized transformer without losing energy
efficiency. However, further efforts in fault-tolerant conversion should be made to
eliminate the power switch failures, i.e. open-circuit failures, short-circuit failures, etc.
while at the same time, enhance the voltage ratio and ensure the reliability of the system.

Hydrogen powered energy system connected by power electronic converters, in which

the DC/DC converters are used to lower down the high DC voltage output to meet the
requirement of low DC voltage input of the electrolyser and to boost the low variable
voltage from the fuel cells to regulate the voltage for grid-connection proposes. The
DC–AC converters are used for grid integration.
 2.1 Energy storage

Considering the high storage capacity of hydrogen, hydrogen-based energy storage has
been gaining momentum in recent years. It can satisfy energy storage needs in a large
time-scale range varying from short-term system frequency control to medium and long-
term (seasonal) energy supply and demand balance .

2.1.1. Medium to long-term energy storage

The recent years have seen rapid growth in renewable energy generation. However, the
intermittent nature of some renewable energy resources makes them time and
seasondependent. Therefore, the generated renewable energy needs to be stored in a reliable
form, which should be tolerant to the fluctuation and randomness of those renewable energy
sources. There are several existing energy storage options, e.g., pumped hydro energy storage,
compressed air energy storage, batteries, etc. Compared with them, hydrogen has its
advantages of high energy storage capacity, long storing period and flexibility. It can smooth
out the energy volatility and uncertainty and absorb, especially, the excess renewable energy
generation . It can be applied to deal with:
• •
Energy time shift: Hydrogen is used to equilibrate the demand and supply by storing the
excess of the energy generated by renewables when the supply is larger than demand
and when it is needed, the hydrogen can be used for power generation or grid injection
through, for example, stationary fuel cells. In particular, the energy generated during
low demand and low electricity price period tends to be stored in hydrogen to lower the
energy cost and in contrary, the hydrogen is used to produce electricity during high
demand and high electricity price period, gaining the most benefit. Besides, the storage
duration of hydrogen is much longer than batteries, up to weeks or months, compared to
hourly or weekly storage of batteries.
• •
Seasonal variation: Hydrogen can also be used to shift the renewable resources across
the seasons due to the seasonal difference in energy production. Moreover, hydrogen
storage capacity can reach up to MWh, even TWh, owing to its high energy density,
while batteries tend to be used in kWh to MWh applications, i.e. one needs to expand
the size of the instrument to reach a greater storage capacity.
Power supply infrastructure of data centres (project

2.1.2. Ancillary services

Fuel cells and electrolysers can also play a role in providing ancillary services to the grid.
These services mainly come in the form of flexibility, which is the main requirement to
integrate renewable energy sources. Examples of ancillary services include congestion
mitigation, reducing negative price occurrences, frequency regulation, voltage support and
black start.

Like other types of energy storage, hydrogen can first be used to mitigate transmission and
distribution line congestion which can result from an insufficient line capacity. This may, for
example, arise due to renewable generation exceeding export line capacity, as in the
The second type of service is to help reduce the number of occurrences of negative prices on
markets. Such negative prices mostly occur due to inflexibility in the generation, either
renewable (e.g., none or little dispatchable) or conventional (e.g., due to minimum power
output or uptime). Increasing electrolysers consumption can, for example, provide a fast and
efficient solution to increase demand, i.e., by providing a form of negative generation. A
similar result can be achieved by decreasing fuel cell power output or shutting them down.
Frequency regulation aims to maintain the grid frequency close to its reference value (50 or 60
Hz) by injecting or absorbing power coordinately to ensure the balance between supply and
demand. Several types of such regulation reserves are distinguished in European networks.
Frequency containment reserve (FCR), or primary reserve, provides constant containment of
frequency when it deviates from the nominal value in a very short term. For frequency
deviations longer than 30 s, the restoration of frequency is handled by frequency restoration
reserve (FRR), with a much larger capacity. Both FCR and FRR services can be achieved by
fuel cells and electrolysers, by increasing or decreasing their power setpoint following a
frequency signal. In case of a frequency drop, e.g., due to a generator failure, a fuel cell can
increase its power output and an electrolyser decrease its consumption, which makes it a form
of demand response asset. Compared to conventional turbine-based generators, fuel cells and
electrolysers are much more flexible with very high ramp-up and ramp-down rates, short
response times (with setpoint changes in less than a second) as well as low minimum up
times. On the other hand, operating equipment in such a way for a long duration may
significantly reduce their lifetime.
Another service which can be achieved by hydrogen equipment is voltage support. As other
devices connected to the grid through power electronics-based converters, the power factor of
fuel cells and electrolysers can be adapted based on the local needs for voltage support. This is
in turn achieved by supplying or absorbing reactive power through inverter or rectifier control.
Black start is another possibility, in the case of a blackout. A conventional generator, such as a
diesel genset, is typically used to bring a power station back into operation. A fuel cell can also
achieve this, without any emission or noise.
While most of these services may also be provided by other types of energy storage, hydrogen
benefits from its high energy storage capacity while also being able to respond to setpoint
changes within a second. This high flexibility level enables hydrogen technologies to
potentially benefit from increased revenue from providing such services, for example on the
reserves or capacity markets, while reducing the payback time of the installations. In most
studies, providing a series of different services and selling hydrogen for other applications does
indeed seem required to enable the profitability of hydrogen installations.
 2.2. Power-to-gas
Power-to-gas is an application which usually uses electric power to produce a
combustible gas. As hydrogen is believed to be a combustible gas with rather high
energy density, power-to-hydrogen applications are gaining momentum. The
hydrogen produced by an electrolyser can then be methanated into methane and
injected to the natural gas grid, or stored, providing a balancing service to the energy
market.

Various pilot and demonstration projects have been launched or are about to be
launched around the world. According to the statistical research in, around 85% of the
state-of-the-art power-to-gas projects are located in Europe, while a few are located in
the USA and Japan. Germany holds the highest installed power share with around 40
MW and a 100 MW power-to-gas pilot plant is being built for industrial use, which
will be connected to the grid from 2022. Besides, numerous power-to-gas
infrastructures are being constructed in areas with abundant wind and solar
resources. Due to the relatively low demand and a constrained transmission network
connecting them to other areas, hydrogen finds its place in both securing stable power
supply and increasing value-creation of these areas. Benefiting from storage facilities,
it is possible to smooth out the variations on wind power production to secure that the
loads in these areas are satisfied at all times.
It aims to demonstrate that the combined operation of both systems can enhance the
flexibility and grid integration of the remote wind farm and increase its economical
profitability. A 2.5 MW PEMEL is used for converting collected wind power into
hydrogen and a 100 kW PEMFC is used to distribute the hydrogen for multiple uses.
As shown in, a monitoring and control system is developed to remotely control the
combined system.. It is equipped with a nominal 1 MW electrolysis unit, which is
optimised for very flexible operation (up to +/−1 MW up/down) to meet the needs of
the network and also to be controllable according to wind production. The produced
hydrogen is methanated and injected to the natural gas grid. Furthermore, it is
coupled with a bio-methane production unit from landfill biogas.
Besides, power-to-gas produced hydrogen can be injected into the existing gas grid. It
offers an efficient storage solution using existing infrastructure and saving
construction cost. The produced hydrogen and methane are being injected into the gas
grid around France. Based on studies, a volumetric level of around 15%–20% blended
hydrogen should be the allowable proportion when being injected into the gas grid for
eliminating hydrogen embrittlement problem. This value should be further lowered in
high-pressure gas transmission grids as high pressure can add to the effects of
hydrogen embrittlement. The additional cost of hydrogen injection is calculated as
0.39 EUR/kg assuming that the cost of hydrogen production is 5.21 EUR/kg using a 5
MW PEMEL with an average electricity cost of 30 EUR/MWh. The injected hydrogen
can provide the subsequent use in a range of different applications including power
generation, heat provision, transport applications such as gas-fuelled urban buses or
passenger cars.
Most power-to-gas projects today, with or without methanation process, tend to be
pilot projects that last for 1 to 3 years, while large industrial plants are planned around
the world and need more social and political support. The potential improvements lie in
the aspects of hydrogen and methanation producing efficiency, as well as the utilisation
of the by-products, like oxygen and heat.

Demonstration of the working principle of tri-generation.

2.3 . Co- and tri-generation

To improve the efficiency and to reduce the cost, fuel cells can be used as prime
movers for combined heat and power (CHP) generation or combined cold and power
(CCP) generation, known as co-generation, or to be used for combined cold heat and
power (CCHP) generation, known as tri-generation. The mechanism of running a
trigeneration system to produce electricity and heat from renewable energy sources
through electrolysers and PEMFCs is shown in the above figure.

2.3.1. Co-generation
The process of using fuel cells as prime movers to produce both electricity and heat
concurrently is called co-generation, in which the electricity is used to provide the electrical
needs, while the released heat is used for heating applications so that the total efficiency can
reach up to 95%. A typical fuel cell co-generation system is made up of a stack, a fuel
processor (a reformer or an electrolyser), power electronics, heat recovery systems, thermal
energy storage systems (typically a hot water storage system), electrochemical energy storage
systems (accumulators or supercapacitors), control equipment and additional equipment (fans,
pumps, communication devices, etc.).
Nowadays, a great number of commercial projects are launched to develop fuel cell
cogeneration applications. Japan is a leader country on small-scale co-generation installations
driven by the ENE-FARM project (about 300,000 units in 2018), which provides electricity
and heat for home use by deploying PEMFCs from 0.3 to 1 kW. As homes are supplied with
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a reformer is used to convert the LPG into hydrogen and the
residual heat can be used to heat up water. Then the PEMFC stack combine hydrogen with
ambient oxygen into water and at the same time, produce electricity and heat to meet the
electrical needs and to heat water for kitchen, bathroom, room heating, etc.
In Europe, micro-co-generation for residential applications is currently in commercial
development. This project started in 2016 and ends in 2021, in which 2800 micro-CHP fuel
cells over 10 European countries are being installed. In the ene.field project, an environmental
life cycle assessment of micro-CHP fuel cell has been carried out. It concludes that in all the
scenarios investigated, fuel cell co-generation produced less greenhouse gas compared to gas
boilers and heat pumps. For these two projects, they have reached an electrical efficiency and
overall efficiency of 60% and 95%, respectively.

2.3.2. Tri-generation
Tri-generation is an extended application of co-generation, which couples a prime mover to
thermally driven equipment to produce cooling. Typically, a heat pump is used to produce cold
from a thermal sink, which contains two reactors, a condenser and an evaporator. The two
reactors consist of an absorption/adsorption reactor and a desorption reactor. The vapour or gas
extracted from the absorbent passes through the condenser where it transforms into a liquid by
rejecting heat, then the refrigerant liquid passes through the evaporator at low pressure, where
it absorbs heat to evaporate.
Compared to the traditional distributed cold, heat and electricity, fuel cell tri-generation can
lower the carbon emissions and increase energy efficiency. In, using a 593 kW SOFC and
absorption chillers, total carbon emissions were divided by two and the overall efficiency of
the system reached 75%. For large scale applications, has run a simulation for a 339 kW
SOFC, coupled with a combustor and a heat steam recovery, which could recover 267 kW of
heat for an overall efficiency of 84%. They also studied a system of 339 kW with an
absorption chiller for cold production, which could generate 303.6 kW of cold and increase
overall efficiency to 89%.
In isolated applications, making full use of the fuel cell rejected heat can reduce electrical
power consumed by the compressor and allows to store cold when there is no cold demand.
This improves the autonomy and the efficiency of the system. A combined organic rankine
cycle (ORC) and a vapour compression cooling (VCC) have been used in to produce hot water
and cold effect, where the fuel cell provides 8 kW electrical power. Meanwhile, the released
heat can be used to run the ORC and/or to be stored for domestic hot water supply. Then, the
ORC produces mechanical power for the compressor of the VCC. Thermal solar panels are
used in addition to power the ORC. They are able to recover 70 kW of heat and 16 kW of cold,
while the overall efficiency can reach 85%.
 3.1 Application Of Hydrogen In Transportation
Hydrogen-fuelled electric powertrains provide a solution for long-distance driving
with clean energy, while battery-powered vehicles suffer from range limitations. 3% of
global vehicle sales in 2030 are expected to be hydrogen-fuelled, and this percentage
could reach 36% in 2050. Several companies are developing fuel cell powertrains in
terms of their quality, reliability and dependableness to accelerate their
commercialisation in the vehicle market. For example, Mirai fuel cell vehicles
developed by Toyota have used mass-production PEMFCs with a 3.1 km/L volume
power density and a 144 kW (155 DIN hp) maximum power output, where a
1.6 kWh nickel-metal hydride battery is connected in parallel to deal with the
regenerative braking and also assist during high-power demands when accelerating.
The current hydrogen storage systems in most commercial hydrogen fuel cell vehicles
are high-pressure compressed hydrogen fuel tanks. For example, Honda’s Clarity fuel
cell vehicle, Hyundai’s NEXO fuel cell vehicle use such tanks, while BMW’s Hydrogen
7 has used a liquid hydrogen fuel tank.
Other than fuel cell vehicles, fuel cell ships have been in development in recent years.
The high pollution caused by ships, counting for around 2.5% of total global greenhouse
gas emissions makes the shipping sector to shift to more sustainable sources of energy,
i.e. hydrogen. Fuel cells are capable of powering ships sailing relatively long distances
compared with those powered by batteries and meeting the auxiliary energy needs of
larger ships. The same is true for fuel cell trains. Hydrogenfuelled regional multi-unit
trains have been put into operation in Europe and are expected to have even higher
market share in the future, which may take place of 30% of the currently used diesel
fleets.
Moreover, instead of injecting the hydrogen into the grid, hydrogen integrated with on-
board systems gives a chance for the hydrogen producer to resell the hydrogen at a
higher price. NREL has revealed that the potential price of hydrogen is about 3 to 10
USD/kg, while the most common price of hydrogen fuel is 13.99 USD/kg. Besides,
developing on-board hydrogen applications can also help to reduce the need to increase
the capacity of grid infrastructure for vehicle charging.

CURRENT STATUS

4.1. Capital cost

Current capital costs of electrolysers, compressed tanks and fuel cells have been
summarised in and several cost-effectiveness analysis has been conducted in recent
projects and researches
The capital cost of the current hydrogen production system using AELs ranges from 1000 to
1500 EUR/kW including installation and that of PEMELs is twice these numbers, i.e., 2000 to
3000 EUR/kW. Although alkaline water electrolysis has been well developed, the production
volume is rather low. This is because the electrolyser providers tend to fabricate small-volume
electrolysers for niche market, which increases at the same time the cost of BoPs. Therefore,
potential cost reduction for AELs depends on more cost-efficient production, while for further
reduction in the cost of PEMEL, breakthroughs in technological developments are required.
Different dimensions of stationary fuel cell systems are deployed to meet various demands
from serving residential buildings to industrial applications. Fuel cell micro-CHPs for family
homes and small buildings with an installed capacity of 0.3–5 kW now cost around 10,000
EUR/kW. Some mid-sized installation for larger buildings of 5–400 kW now cost 4500
EUR/kW to 7500 EUR/kW and large scale installations of 0.4–30 MW costs 2000 to 3000
EUR/kW for specific industrial applications
With the gradual maturity of technologies, the capital costs of both electrolyser systems and
fuel cell systems are expected to decrease significantly by 2030, especially the stack cost.
Technological advances in increasing the active area of the stack are required, which can
reduce the number of cells for producing a certain amount of hydrogen, and therefore, decrease
the cost.
4.2. Hydrogen production cost
The cost of steam reforming hydrogen is mainly shaped by the gas prices, which currently
ranges from 1.4 to 1.8 EUR/kg with CO2 capture. However, driven by the exhaustion of fossil
fuels and the decreasing cost of renewable electricity, electrolytic hydrogen becomes
competitive and is about to see continuous increasing deployments shortly. The current
hydrogen production cost of AEL is 3.2–5.2 EUR/kg, while using PEMEL, the cost is 4.1–6
EUR/kg . Regarding hydrogen’s compressing, storing and dispensing, the pipeline scenario
cost is 1.8–2.6 EUR/kg and the distributed scenario cost is 2.1–3 EUR/kg. This cost is expected
to be reduced to 1.6 EUR/kg as the ultimate goal .
Although producing hydrogen through water electrolysis is a promising solution, the
consumption of electricity should be considered. If the hydrogen is produced through water
electrolysis with an assumed efficiency of 60%, all today’s dedicated hydrogen demand
requires 3600 TWh of electricity consumption, which exceeds the total annual electricity
generation in Europe. One promising solution for lowering down the electricity price is to
generate electricity from renewables or nuclear power. As renewable energy sources, e.g. solar
and wind, have been explored with declining costs, renewable electricity becomes less
expensive. Although the hydrogen produced using renewable energy may suffer from high
transmission and distribution cost as the locations could be remote, the final profit is
considerable. A cost–benefit analysis of an integrated wind–hydrogen system in Corvo island
has been conducted in, which found that the local renewable energy can cover 80% of the
electricity demand of the island. Projects for installing electrolysers at the locations with
excellent solar and wind resources have been launched all over the world and future largescale
industrial deployments are about to be undertaken.

4.3. Consumption of water

Except for electricity, water is another necessary element for hydrogen production via
electrolysis. Theoretically speaking, 0.81 L of water is consumed to produce 1 N m3 of
hydrogen but at least 25% more water is consumed in a practical manner, i.e. 1 litre of water
is required in reality. According to the literature, to produce 1 kg of hydrogen using a PEMEL
needs 18 litres of water and 54 kWh of electricity . Supposing all of today’s dedicated
hydrogen production, i.e. 70 Mt was produced by water electrolysis, water consumption
would represent 1.3% of the water consumption of the global energy sector. One alternative
solution to is to use reverse osmosis for seawater desalination. The electricity cost for
desalinating 1 m3 of water is 0.7–2.5 USD, which is believed to have little influence on the
total hydrogen production cost . Efforts on how to easily integrating seawater into water
electrolysis process are required for the moment.

4.4. Consumption of rare materials

Rare materials can play different roles in fuel cell and electrolyser systems. For example, they
could be used as catalysts and co-catalysts of electrodes, electrolytes additives, etc. The
consumption of rare materials has generated a wide concern on their high cost, concentrated
supply and resource shortage .
Rather than using Nickel-based electrocatalysts for the alkaline hydrogen oxidation reaction in
alkaline technologies, PEM fuel cells and electrolysers need more expensive rare materials to
formulate their bipolar plates and the catalysts of anode and cathode to achieve competitive
efficiency. The commonly used bipolar plates are of titanium, which makes up 50% of the cost
of the PEMEL stack . Catalysts for the anode and the cathodes make up 10% or less the total
stack cost The electrodes of PEMFCs and PEMELs also need expensive metal elements to
provide high corrosion resistance and catalytic activity. The anode normally uses iridium and
ruthenium-based catalysts and the cathode uses palladium and platinumbased catalysts. A study
has shown that 7% of the world’s platinum supply will be required for the fuel cell use in the
Europe in 2030.
To reduce the stack cost, catalyst-related cost reduction is regarded as a priority. Solutions exist
in developing advanced support structures, mixed metal oxides and nano-scale catalysts. For
example, carbon nanotube supported platinum catalyst has been developed to reduce the use of
platinum. It is expected to reduce the iridium and ruthenium used on the anode and the
platinum used on the cathode to 0.4 mg/W and 0.1 mg/W, respectively, in 2030 .

4.5. Environmental impact

The environmental impact of hydrogen depends, most of all, on how it is produced. Current
hydrogen supply relies on coal gasification and steam reforming of natural gas, rather than
being generated through renewable energy because the costs of steam reforming are relatively
low . This kind of hydrogen is called “grey hydrogen”, which is massively used in the industry
nowadays. However, the process generates hydrogen, as well as CO and CO2 gases. The
produced CO are burned to be turned into CO2, which is the major contributor to the
greenhouse gas. “Grey hydrogen” production emits at least 10 kg CO2 per kilo hydrogen
production. Due to the increasing carbon tax, the price of the “grey hydrogen” has become no
longer attracted. Besides, the climate change due to emissions causes problem in human health
and may also generate costs on the population displacement, which may be hardly quantified
but add to the hydrogen cost. As the hydrogen is playing an important role in the energy
transition, it is not only necessary to make the hydrogen economy economically feasible but
also needed to maximise its decarbonisation potential. Alternative pathways to reduce
emissions in the medium term is to produce “blue hydrogen” and “yellow hydrogen”. “Blue
hydrogen” is reformed from the natural gas or coal-derived gas with carbon capture and
sequestration (CCS) and a 90% carbon capture rate is possible with less than 1.5 kg CO2
emitted per kilo hydrogen production. However, “blue hydrogen” production depends on the
fossil fuel supply chain and CCS storage facilities. It reduces emissions and saves costs in the
short to medium term, but it will be more expensive in the long term. The hydrogen produced
electrolytically by nuclear energy is called “yellow hydrogen”, which is zero-carbon.
LucidCatalyst has reported in 2020 that the cost of hydrogen from nuclear power is 2 USD/kg,
which is competitive to “grey hydrogen”, 0.7–1.6 USD/kg without costing CO2 emissions . In
the long run, producing “green hydrogen” using renewable electricity (e.g., solar, wind) should
be promising owing to the cost reductions for electrolyser CAPEX and the increasing capacity
of the renewable energy.
On the other hand, hydrogen itself can be regarded as an indirect greenhouse gas The
proportion of the hydrogen emitted from a hydrogen energy system during production,
transport or at the point of use may range from 0.2 up to 10% Although hydrogen technologies
have the potential to replace fossil fuels that generate directly man-made greenhouse gas, the
inevitable emissions through the hydrogen production, compression, storage and transportation
process can lead to the indirect concentration of the greenhouse gas This is because the
hydrogen can react with hydroxyl radicals and reduce their concentration, which perturbs the
oxidation reactions of hydroxyl radicals and other greenhouse gases, e.g. CH4 and CO, and
increases the greenhouse effects ]. The oxidation of hydrogen also increases the water content
in the stratosphere and cools down the lower stratosphere. The low temperature may create
more polar stratospheric clouds and impede the breaking-up of the polar vortex, causing larger
and deeper ozone hole However, as few studies have been conducted to consider the impacts
of hydrogen as a greenhouse gas in energy systems, the uncertainties should be investigated
before the large-scale hydrogen deployment.
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an efficient tool to evaluate the potential environmental impacts
of hydrogen energy systems. The EU has published the International Reference Life Cycle
Data System (ILCD) Handbook, in which several impacts are considered: climate change,
ozone layer depletion, photochemical oxidation, acidification potential, eutrophication potential
and resource and fossil fuels depletion, etc. These environmental impacts can then be translated
into damage impacts on the human health, ecosystem quality and resource scarcity. For
example, Mehmeti et al. have conducted midpoint and endpoint LCA, corresponding to 17
problems on the ecological level and 3 problems oriented on the damage, to evaluate different
hydrogen production methods and pointed out that the electrolysis using renewable energy
showed the most benefits. If hydrogen is going to play an important role in future energy
systems, life cycle criteria must be assessed to know how it might perform better and also to
convince the stakeholders.

4.6. Efficiency and durability

The current achievements on efficiency and durability of fuel cell and electrolyser systems are
still not satisfactory and remain as challenges that hold behind the successful market
introduction of many hydrogen energy systems. In fact, the efficiency of water electrolysis
system is very close to the ultimate target today. The electrical efficiency of AEL systems is
around 63%–73%, while the ultimate goal is 70%–80% . A PEMEL system has a lower
efficiency of around 60%, which is expected to be improved to 67%–74% in the future .
However, in real systems, the operating efficiency can be even higher as the electrolyser can
work at higher efficiency with partial loads rather than full loads. Developing optimisation and
control strategies to aid electrolysers working at their optimal load may help to improve the
operating efficiency. For fuel cell stationary applications, the thermal efficiency should be
considered as well. The current achieved electrical efficiency and thermal efficiency of micro-
CHP applications is around 36% and 52%, respectively . For mid-size applications, the
electrical efficiency and thermal efficiency are 50% and 37%, respectively and for large-scale
applications, they are 55% and 32%, respectively .
Another challenge is due to the fact that the components of fuel cells and electrolysers may suffer
from various degrees of degradation. The degradation may come from electrical, mechanical and
thermal deformation, which lead to performance loss. In practice, the operating voltage of an
electrolyser stack in a hydrogen production system decrease by about 0.4–5 μV per operation
hour and the current electrolyser system durability is around 40,000 h, which implies
unefficiency up to 10% lower compared to the initial state. The same is applied to stationary fuel
cell systems. The system life is designed to be around ten years for micro-CHP, however, the
replacement of the stack must take place twice due to the stack voltage degradation in limited
operation time of 40,000 h . A system lifetime of 15 years without stack replacement is expected
in the industry. For mid-size and large-scale applications, the system lifetime is around 10 years
with one stack replacement and is expected to reach 20 years in the near future. Besides,
unsatisfied durability and reliability of the current hydrogen integration systems are usually
associated with a high maintenance cost, while nonoptimised operation conditions could be a
critical reason leading to the unexpected shutdowns and degradation of the components . Efforts
on developing system health control and management may be one solution to reduce this part of
the cost.

Fig. 17. Review procedure and criteria for screening.

Fig. 18. Yearly evolution and percentage distribution of publications from 2000 to date
containing terms “hydrogen” AND “storage” AND “material”, “hydrogen” AND “energy
storage system” NOT “tank”, “hydrogen” AND “power-to-gas”, “hydrogen” AND “transp
5 . 1 Conclusion
Hydrogen is playing an important role in supporting the decarbonisation of various sectors, e.g.
industry, transport, power generation, etc. Efforts have been made to accelerate the process of
transforming this potential into reality. This paper has reviewed the key technologies that
facilitate the hydrogen integration into energy sectors in terms of production, re-electrification
and storage. The applications on the system level for the stationary background are highlighted
and the potential of hydrogen to store and transfer energy is recognised. The improvement of
the technology readiness level makes it possible to achieve major installations of the renewable
hydrogen electrolysers in the coming years.
This paper has also pointed out that the current status on the system capital cost and hydrogen
production cost are still not competitive for the hydrogen’s wide introduction to the industrial
deployments and the consumption of water and rare materials have limited the development
from the aspect of sustainability. Moreover, the efficiency and durability of electrolyser
systems and fuel cell systems are not satisfied, which lead to the high operation and
maintenance cost. Based on the literature survey across the time, a variety of progress is
demanded in the near future. Research and development of approaches to reduce cost while
improving the system efficiency and durability should be undertaken. Furthermore,
policymakers should enhance the measures that can bring hydrogen to today’s markets and
promote the development of hydrogen integrated energy systems.
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