Handling fluctuating renewable energy production by hydrogen scenarios*

The aim is to identify ways of handling the large deficits and surpluses of electricity, particularly from wind energy expected in the future Danish energy system, by use of hydrogen as an energy carrier and an energy store. System-wide aspects of the choice of hydrogen production technologies, distribution methods, infrastructure requirements and conversion technologies are assessed. Two types of hydrogen use are investigated: in the transportation sector, or as a storage option in connection with stationary power and heat production. For the mid-2100 century, where the existing fossil energy is expected to have been largely phased out, scenarios combining the above hydrogen uses are constructed: a complete decentralisation of the use of hydrogen, converting and storing surpluses within individual buildings for later use in vehicles or regeneration of power and heat. Alternatively retaining some centralised infrastructure, such as hydrogen cavern stores and a network of vehicle filling stations. The analysis tracks hydrogen conversions in time and space, using hourly simulation and a 500m×500m grid, in order to model variations in wind power production and energy demand