Numerical simulations of the energy performance of a PEM water electrolysis based high-pressure hydrogen refueling station

The present paper proposes an energy analysis on a hydrogen production and storage system. The dynamic and multi-physical investigation is inherent to an energy system composed of a PEM electrolyzer, a diaphragm compressor, a gaseous storage system, ancillaries, and control procedures. To perform this investigation, a model previously developed by the authors has been used. The case-study simulation shows how the electrolyzer has the predominant rate, accounting for 88.5% of the daily 24-h energy demand (13 MWh). The electrolyzer specific energy consumption for 205 kg of hydrogen generated resulted to be 56.3 kWh/kg. The other components have required 1.5 MWh, with a specific energy of about 7.5 kWh/kg. The overall system efficiency resulted to be 52.9%, including all the components and their energy consumption and guaranteeing 14.9 metric tons of avoided carbon dioxide.