(328i) Enabling Green Hydrogen at Scale through Process Systems Engineering

While green hydrogen has emerged as a promising solution to address the intermittency and curtailment challenges of renewable energy, its large-scale deployment still faces several barriers. Issues such as high production costs, system degradation under variable operation, and the relatively low technological maturity of electrolysis systems continue to limit its commercial viability.

In this talk, we present a process systems engineering approach to support the commercialization of green hydrogen. Through integrated system modeling, techno-economic analysis, and multi-objective optimization, we explore how to design and operate hydrogen systems that are both economically viable and resilient to renewable energy variability. Using weather-based data, we quantify renewable energy availability and simulate hydrogen production under different system configurations. We analyze how system sizing, component efficiency, and renewable resource composition affect key metrics such as levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) and production reliability. Special attention is given to curtailment management, performance degradation due to intermittent operation, and the balance between cost and system flexibility. Comparative evaluations of electrolysis technologies, including alkaline and PEM systems, are also conducted to assess their suitability under different operating scenarios. The analysis highlights the trade-offs in technology selection, particularly with respect to load constraints and flexibility, on/off cycles, and integration with batteries or hybrid renewable sources.

By applying a unified modeling framework and optimization strategy, our work aims to provide actionable insights for system design, technology scaling, and strategic planning. The results underscore the importance of a system-level perspective in addressing real-world constraints and advancing green hydrogen as a commercially viable energy solution.