Renewable energy sources are basically unpredictable, due to this fact the development and implementation of energy storage technologies is required. Hydrogen production by water electrolysis is seen as a potential alternative for grid balancing with high penetration of renewable energy, thanks to the versatility of such alternative fuel.
Unfortunately, the state of the art electrolyzers present tecno-economic limitations which prevent their penetration into the energy storage market or other grid reinforcement approaches.
Currently there are a few ongoing European projects, funded by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, focused on the electrolyzers viability for providing grid balancing. Such scenario would contribute to competitive costs for hydrogen production while electrical grid saturations are avoided. To overcome the challenge robust and reliable control and communication systems (CCS) which enable the operation of the electrolyzer under the electrical grid commands must be developed. Additionally, CCS should allow dynamic and stationary regimes while security parameters and the durability of the equipments are ensured. The overall objective of the ELYPLUS project is the implementation of a new CCS which allows the remote control of the operation of water electrolyzers providing grid services while connected to the electrical grid.
