Energy and Economic Analysis of Technologies Suitable for Energy Transition in the Hospital Sector

The energy sector is currently facing the challenge of achieving energy transition targets while maintaining a reliable and economically sustainable energy supply. In this context, this study aims to identify the energy conversion technologies and storage systems that are expected to play a leading role in the hospital sector up to 2050. To this end, an optimization approach is developed to simultaneously optimize both the size and operation of a multi-generation energy system (MES) by means of the integration of two algorithms, i.e., particle swarm optimization and mixed-integer linear programming. The proposed approach is applied to a hospital hypothetically located in the city of Torino (Italy). For the considered projections, investments for future scenarios are profitable with NPV values up to 4.6 M€ and a discounted return on investment that is always positive in all the investigated cases. In addition, the initial investment is recovered well before the end of the MES’ expected lifetime. An additional takeaway from this study is the sensitivity analysis that provides guidelines about the influence of both electricity price and fuel cost on investment profitability. Furthermore, the proposed optimization framework supports operational decision-making by identifying cost-effective sizing and management strategies under different future energy scenarios, thereby facilitating informed investment planning and contributing to the energy transition of hospitals.