LAPSE:2020.0391
Published Article
LAPSE:2020.0391
Alkaline Water Electrolysis Powered by Renewable Energy: A Review
April 14, 2020
Alkaline water electrolysis is a key technology for large-scale hydrogen production powered by renewable energy. As conventional electrolyzers are designed for operation at fixed process conditions, the implementation of fluctuating and highly intermittent renewable energy is challenging. This contribution shows the recent state of system descriptions for alkaline water electrolysis and renewable energies, such as solar and wind power. Each component of a hydrogen energy system needs to be optimized to increase the operation time and system efficiency. Only in this way can hydrogen produced by electrolysis processes be competitive with the conventional path based on fossil energy sources. Conventional alkaline water electrolyzers show a limited part-load range due to an increased gas impurity at low power availability. As explosive mixtures of hydrogen and oxygen must be prevented, a safety shutdown is performed when reaching specific gas contamination. Furthermore, the cell voltage should be optimized to maintain a high efficiency. While photovoltaic panels can be directly coupled to alkaline water electrolyzers, wind turbines require suitable converters with additional losses. By combining alkaline water electrolysis with hydrogen storage tanks and fuel cells, power grid stabilization can be performed. As a consequence, the conventional spinning reserve can be reduced, which additionally lowers the carbon dioxide emissions.
Keywords
alkaline water electrolysis, dynamic, fluctuations, Hydrogen, limitations, photovoltaic, Renewable and Sustainable Energy, solar, sustainable, Wind
Suggested Citation
Brauns J, Turek T. Alkaline Water Electrolysis Powered by Renewable Energy: A Review. (2020). LAPSE:2020.0391
Author Affiliations
Brauns J: Institute of Chemical and Electrochemical Process Engineering, Clausthal University of Technology, Leibnizstr. 17, 38678 Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany [ORCID]
Turek T: Institute of Chemical and Electrochemical Process Engineering, Clausthal University of Technology, Leibnizstr. 17, 38678 Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany [ORCID]
Journal Name
Processes
Volume
8
Issue
2
Article Number
E248
Year
2020
Publication Date
2020-02-21
Published Version
ISSN
2227-9717
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Original Submission
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PII: pr8020248, Publication Type: Review
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LAPSE:2020.0391
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doi:10.3390/pr8020248
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Apr 14, 2020
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CC BY 4.0
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Apr 14, 2020
 
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Original Submitter
Calvin Tsay
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