Modeling the economic viability of integrated hydrogen fuel cell heat pump CHP systems for residential applications

Domestic heating contributes to 10% of the total Dutch CO2 emissions. Heat pumps are a sustainable way to produce heat efficiently. However, in winter, their performance reduces, renewable energy supply is low, and heat demand is high, resulting in high electricity prices. Adding a fuel cell to the system enables the utilization of waste heat produced during the conversion of hydrogen to electricity. The integration improves both the overall system efficiency and fuel cell’s heat utilization. We assess the economic viability through system simulation of different energy system configurations with a zero-dimensional model controlled by a model predictive controller as an energy management system. Under current market conditions, adding a heat pump-fuel cell system has a low marginal gain compared to a stand-alone heat pump or solar panels. However, the fuel cell dynamics mitigate the heat pump shortcomings during periods of high heat demand and/or price peaks, making it an interesting solution for certain applications.