Energy Engineering and Management

Energy Engineering and Management

Simulation and Techno-Economic Evaluation of the Performance of a Photovoltaic-PEM Electrolyzer Hybrid System for Green Hydrogen Production: A Case Study in Northern Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Faculty of Engineering and Technology, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran
2 Faculty of Engineering and Technology, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran,
Abstract
This paper simulates and investigates the technical and economic performance of a hybrid system of photovoltaic panels and proton exchange membrane electrolyzer for hydrogen production in the climatic conditions of Mazandaran province. The mathematical modeling of the photovoltaic panel, based on a five-parameter model and the electrolyzer, was performed using the voltage-current curve obtained from fitting experimental data. Solar radiation and temperature data of Ghaemshahr city were used as model inputs, and the system performance was investigated on a daily and seasonal scale. Every 10% increase in radiation leads to about 10% increase in hydrogen production rate. In the temperature range of 5 to 40 degrees Celsius, the average hydrogen production rate increased by less than 2%, indicating that it did not have a significant effect on system performance. Temperature had a dual effect on the system: increasing temperature reduced the efficiency of the photovoltaic panel but improved the conductivity of the electrolyte in the electrolyzer. Electrical matching analysis showed that in direct connection, the system operating point was near the maximum power point of the photovoltaic panel in most climatic conditions. An economic analysis of implementing a 5-kW system in Mazandaran Province showed that the project was economically justified assuming the current price of hydrogen. Also, as the price of hydrogen increases, the payback period will decrease significantly.
Keywords
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