Grey wolf optimization of renewable hydrogen and electric vehicle refueling stations using pv wind and hybrid energy systems

Abstract This study develops and comparatively evaluates three fully renewable hydrogen-EV refueling station configurations powered by PV-only, wind-only, and hybrid PV-wind systems. A Grey Wolf Optimizer was coupled with an 8760-h chronological simulation to jointly determine renewable-generation capacity, electrolyzer size, and hydrogen-storage capacity while enforcing zero electrical and hydrogen supply shortages. The wind-only configuration achieved the lowest techno-economic indicators, requiring 1250 kW of wind capacity, a 594.29 kW electrolyzer, and 621.35 kg H 2 storage, with an NPC of $3.77 million, LCOE of $0.16/kWh, and LCOH of $6.73/kg-H 2 . The hybrid PV-wind system combined 393.68 kW PV and 950 kW wind with a 552.89 kW electrolyzer and 542.05 kg storage, achieving an NPC of $3.92 million, LCOE of $0.17/kWh, and LCOH of $6.99/kg-H 2 . The PV-only configuration required 1622.98 kW PV, a 999.72 kW electrolyzer, and 1869.11 kg storage, resulting in a $6.67 million NPC, $0.30/kWh LCOE, and $11.89/kg-H 2 LCOH. All scenarios achieved LPSP = 0 and LHSP = 0. The results demonstrate that renewable-source selection strongly affects system sizing, storage requirements, and lifecycle economics, while the hybrid configuration provides a diversified supply architecture with reduced dependence on fuel-cell support.