Integrated Design and Construction of a 50kW Flexible Hybrid Renewable Power Hydrogen Testbed

The production of hydrogen via electrolysis, using renewable power and sustainable water sources, is critical to energy storage systems and the energy transition. There remain significant industry questions concerning efficiency and degradation of hydrogen production, component lifetimes, hydrogen storage, system maintenance, control methods and end-of-life refurbishment/recycle/salvage that, when answered, enable viable techno-economic analyses of scaled-up systems. Current knowledge of component and systems integration has uncertainty that requires a detailed technical analysis of these industry questions via research-based low regret testbeds. This study details exemplar design and construction of a flexible plug-and-play hybrid renewable power and hydrogen testbed with up to 50 kW electrolysis aimed at addressing these questions. The testbed configuration includes three different solar technologies, three different battery technologies, two different electrolyser technologies, hydrogen storage and a fuel cell for regenerative renewable power. Design constraints include the current limit of an AC microgrid, regulations for grid connected inverters, power connection inefficiencies and regulated hazardous area approval. These constraints can be overcome but additional time and resources are required to re-certify design and construction. We identify, and show resolution of, systems integration challenges encountered during construction that may benefit the energy transition.