Hydrogen Production Plant Retrofit for Green H 2: Experimental Validation of a High-Efficiency Retrofit of an Alkaline Hydrogen Plant Using an Isolated DC Microgrid

Rogerio Luiz da Silva Junior, Filipe Tavares Carneiro, Leonardo Bruno Garcial Campanhol, Guilherme Gemi Pissaia, Tales Gottlieb Jahn, Angel Ambrocio Quispe, Carina Bonavigo Jakubiu, Daniel Augusto Cantane, Leonardo Sostmeyer Mai, Jose Alfredo Valverde and Fernando Marcos Oliveira ()
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Rogerio Luiz da Silva Junior: Itaipu Parquetec, Foz do Iguaçu 85867-900, PR, Brazil
Filipe Tavares Carneiro: Itaipu Parquetec, Foz do Iguaçu 85867-900, PR, Brazil
Leonardo Bruno Garcial Campanhol: Itaipu Parquetec, Foz do Iguaçu 85867-900, PR, Brazil
Guilherme Gemi Pissaia: Itaipu Parquetec, Foz do Iguaçu 85867-900, PR, Brazil
Tales Gottlieb Jahn: Itaipu Parquetec, Foz do Iguaçu 85867-900, PR, Brazil
Angel Ambrocio Quispe: Itaipu Parquetec, Foz do Iguaçu 85867-900, PR, Brazil
Carina Bonavigo Jakubiu: Itaipu Parquetec, Foz do Iguaçu 85867-900, PR, Brazil
Daniel Augusto Cantane: Itaipu Parquetec, Foz do Iguaçu 85867-900, PR, Brazil
Leonardo Sostmeyer Mai: ISI Embarcados—SENAI, Florianópolis 88054-700, SC, Brazil
Jose Alfredo Valverde: CTG-Brazil, São Paulo 04551-060, SP, Brazil
Fernando Marcos Oliveira: Itaipu Parquetec, Foz do Iguaçu 85867-900, PR, Brazil

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 20, 1-27

Abstract: Given the climate change observed in the past few decades, sustainable development and the use of renewable energy sources are urgent. In this scenario, hydrogen production through electrolyzers is a promising renewable source and energy vector because of its ultralow greenhouse emissions and high energy content. Hydrogen can be used in a variety of applications, from transportation to electricity generation, contributing to the diversification of the energy matrix. In this context, this paper presents an autonomous isolated DC microgrid system for generating and storing electrical energy to be exclusively used for feeding an electrolyzer hydrogen production plant, which has been retrofitted for green hydrogen production. Experimental verification was performed at Itaipu Parquetec, which consists of an alkaline electrolysis unit directly integrated with a battery energy storage system and renewable sources (e.g., photovoltaic and wind) by using an isolated DC microgrid concept based on DC/DC and AC/DC converters. Experimental results revealed that the new electrolyzer DC microgrid increases the system’s overall efficiency in comparison to the legacy thyristor-based power supply system by 26%, and it autonomously controls the energy supply to the electrolyzer under optimized conditions with an extremely low output current ripple. Another advantage of the proposed DC microgrid is its ability to properly manage the startup and shutdown process of the electrolyzer plant under power generation outages. This paper is the result of activities carried out under the R&D project of ANEEL program No. PD-10381-0221/2021, entitled “Multiport DC-DC Converter and IoT System for Intelligent Energy Management”, which was conducted in partnership with CTG-Brazil.

Keywords: green hydrogen; DC microgrid; renewable energy sources; power plant retrofit (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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