Influence of renewable energy power fluctuations on water electrolysis for green hydrogen production

The development of renewable energy technologies is essential to achieve carbon neutrality. Hydrogen can be stably stored and transported in large quantities to maximize power utilization. Detailed understanding of the characteristics and operating methods of water electrolysis technologies, in which naturally intermittent fluctuating power is used directly, is required for green hydrogen production, because fluctuating power-driven water electrolysis processes significantly differ from industrial water electrolysis pro-cesses driven by steady grid power. Thus, it is necessary to overcome several issues related to the direct use of fluctuating power. This article reviews the characteristics of fluctuating power and its generation as well as the current status and issues related to the operation conditions, water electrolyzer configuration, system requirements, stack/catalyst dura-bility, and degradation mechanisms under the direct use of fluctuating power sources. It also provides an accelerated degradation test protocol method for fair catalyst perfor-mance comparison and share of effective design directions. Finally, it discusses potential challenges and recommendations for further improvements in water electrolyzer com-ponents and systems suitable for practical use, suggesting that a breakthrough could be realized toward the achievement of a sustainable hydrogen-based society.(c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/).

Automated summary

The development of renewable energy technologies is crucial for achieving carbon neutrality. Stable storage and transportation of hydrogen in large quantities can maximize power utilization. A detailed understanding of the characteristics and operating methods of fluctuating power-driven water electrolysis technologies is essential for green hydrogen production.