EMS in H2 plants to produce “green”
Do I need an EMS for my hydrogen project?
Hydrogen is on everyone’s lips and is seen as one of the future carriers of the energy system. If hydrogen is produced exclusively with electricity from renewable generation, this “green” hydrogen not only reduces CO2 emissions, but it can also be used as a storage medium. This enables us to make even better use of renewable electricity generation.
To achieve this, it is necessary to not only choose the right technology and technical setup, but also to have an operation strategy for the whole plant in which the generation, storage, and productions assets are utilized in the most economical efficient way. An intelligent Energy Management System (EMS) can play an important role and support the operator in always finding the best operation schedule for the next period.
What an EMS can do:
Integration of renewable energy: If the hydrogen production plant gets the energy from renewable sources such as wind, solar or hydropower to produce “green” hydrogen an EMS can monitor the renewable energy source and plan the electrolysis process to operate during periods of high renewable energy production. This enables the efficient use of renewable energy for hydrogen production.
Optimization of energy production: An EMS can monitor and control the flow of energy in the power plant to optimize hydrogen production. It can adjust the plan to operate the electrolyzers that convert water into hydrogen and oxygen so that they run efficiently and meet the needs of the energy supply system.
Load balancing and grid stability: An EMS can adapt hydrogen production to the current needs of the power grid. It can consider peak times and peak loads to optimize hydrogen operation and contribute to grid stability.
Efficiency Increase: An EMS can ensure that the electrolyzers and other equipment in the power plant are operating at maximum efficiency. This helps to minimize energy consumption and maximize the overall efficiency of the hydrogen production process.
Monitoring and Maintenance: An EMS can monitor the operating status of the equipment and point out potential problems at an early stage. This simplifies maintenance and servicing and minimizes possible downtime.
Profitability increase: Based on the availability of renewable energy production and delivery obligations for the hydrogen an EMS can plan the best economic utilization of the produced energy for the next period. To make this suggestion it considers prices and costs as well as operational boundaries given by the plant characteristics, such as allowed cycles per day for batteries or start up times and ramping rates for electrolyzers. This not only support a gentle operation of the asset but also to realize the economical optimum.
Safety: An EMS can monitor safety-relevant parameters and, in the event of deviations or hazardous situations, automatically alert the operator to ensure safety in the power plant.