Production of hydrogen using solar-powered electrolysis

A solar-powered electrolysis (SPE) unit was modelled to provide 58,400 kg of hydrogen to run the fuel cell bus fleet in Lea interchange garage in London on a yearly basis. Experiments were conducted to determine the efficiency of the photovoltaic (PV) module and the electrolyser. An energy balance of the electrolysis unit was calculated to give 47.82 kwh/kg and used to model a 2.98 MW photovoltaic system required to run the electrolysis process. Cost analysis was conducted to show that steam methane reforming cost £1.14/kg while solar-powered electrolysis cost £15.76/kg of hydrogen gas