Techno-economic analysis of micro fuel cell cogeneration and storage in Germany

Laurens Löbberding and Reinhard Madlener

Applied Energy, 2019, vol. 235, issue C, 1603-1613

Abstract: In this paper, the effectiveness of support schemes for micro fuel cells in Germany is analyzed with regard to the latest market conditions, technical characteristics, and legislative changes. To this end, a dynamic model is used and applied to high-resolution household demand data. Specifically, we scrutinize whether polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are now a feasible investment option for residential usage in Germany or are likely to become so soon. Furthermore, we investigate whether electric energy storage could be a useful extension to the domestic fuel cell system by supplying short-term peak demand, and thus increasing self-consumption and potentially the overall economic merit. We find that the fuel cell technology analyzed is unlikely to become cost-competitive by 2020, and it may take quite some time to achieve a substantial market diffusion. We conclude that for the time being, electric energy storage in combination with a fuel cell system is not a worthwhile investment in a scenario where grid connection is assumed.

Keywords: CHP; Micro fuel cell; PEMFC; Battery storage; Economic evaluation; Market diffusion; Germany; Learning curve (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.11.023

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