A Multi-Stage Energy Management Approach Incorporating Seasonal Hydrogen Storage in a PV-BESS-Electrolyzer-Fuel Cell System

This paper introduces a novel four-stage energy management strategy, harnessing receding-horizon optimization to manage energy consumption to facilitate a photovoltaic (PV)battery (BESS)-electrolyzer-fuel cell residential energy community in the urban environment. Our approach uniquely sequences four optimization stages: yearly, monthly, day-ahead, and intraday. This integration blends both long-term and short-term strategies in energy management system (EMS) development, positioning hydrogen produced by electrolyzers as seasonal storage and batteries for daily utilization. The algorithm presents three modes, each defined by a distinct objective function, catering to different user preferences: self-sufficiency, profit maximization in the energy market, and provision of balancing services to grid operators and external entities. The method’s efficacy is demonstrated through simulations and a detailed analysis of a real-world PV-BESS-electrolyzer-fuel cell lab setup, encompassing algorithm efficiency assessment and a comparative performance review across the different operational modes.