The focus of this investigation is the location, sizing and performance of a Hydrogen Fueling Station (HFS) in The Netherlands in 2030. The transportation sector is one of the main air pollution sources, reaching 17% of the total emissions from The Netherlands in 2015. By promoting zero emission vehicles, like Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs), The Netherlands could reduce its environmental impact and reach its future emission goals.
The proposed HFS model consists of a wind turbine, electrolyzer, hydrogen compression and storage system, hydrogen cooling and dispensing system, and a hydrogen tube trailer for buying or selling hydrogen on the industrial market. This system is capable of producing hydrogen on-site with wind energy, reducing the emissions from hydrogen production. The location was based on the re-utilization of existing petrol fueling stations in The Netherlands, meaning that around 3,800 locations were considered. Based on existing legislation for wind turbine placement that regulate noise, safety, and environmental protection, locations were filtered to eliminate infeasible petrol fueling stations, thus leaving 106 locations that allow to install a wind turbine (2.7 % of the existing petrol fueling stations).
By extrapolating the possible hydrogen demand from a single HFS, an hourly demand profile for a whole year was created. The annual consumption was based on the expected petrol dispensed by an average Dutch petrol fueling station in 2030. This demand profile considered hourly, weekly, and seasonal variations in demand. The GIS study indicated that Zoetermeer had average conditions from the feasible locations. Therefore, the wind speed profile was taken from a nearby weather station in Voorschoten. Surface roughness was studied to perform the wind speed extrapolation from 10mto 160 m, the hub height of the wind turbine.
To select the sizes of the wind turbine, electrolyzer, and grid capacity, 90 HFS configurations were simulated and compared with minimum values of environmental (kgCO2eq/kgH2), reliability (Loss of Supply Probability and Equivalent Loss Factor), and financial metrics (CAPEX, OPEX, and LCoH). The recommended system configuration was: one 4.2MW wind turbine, a PEM electrolyzer with a capacity of 45 kgH2/hour (2.4 MW), and 1 MW grid connection for the electrolyzer. The HFS is capable of producing 335 tH2 per year, at 5.034 Euro/kgH2 with 2.74 kgCO2eq/kgH2. This configuration requires a CAPEX of 13.2 MEuro and an annual OPEX of 1.39 MEuro. The efficiency of the complete HFS is 56.4 kWh/kgH2.
If implemented in all the feasible locations, the proposed HFS has the capacity to supply hydrogen to 289,000 passenger FCEVs, removing 467 ktCO2eq from the environment every year. Although this is only 1.4% of the total transportation emissions, it is a step in the right direction to reduce the CO2 emissions in The Netherlands.