Public Thesis defense - IMMC

Impact of Hydrogen on Power System Adequacy: Application to the 2030 Belgian System by Aurélia Hernandez

Hydrogen is foreseen to be part of our future energy systems as Europe has the ambition to be a carbon-neutral continent by 2050. As the grid undergoes significant changes, such as shifting to intermittent renewable energy production and increasing the electrification of various end-use demands, probabilistic adequacy studies that assess whether a power system can meet consumers' demand at all times and in all locations becomes essential. Integrating electrolyzers into the power system introduces an unconventional and variable electrical demand. Indeed, to produce green hydrogen, electrolyzers will primarily consume when renewable energy sources are producing.  Furthermore, the hydrogen system comprising a pipeline network, storage facilities, import points, and hydrogen-to-power units may influence electrolyzer consumption. The primary objective of this work is to quantify the impact of this unconventional demand on power system adequacy. Specifically, we aim to answer the question: What is the impact of e-hydrogen on the adequacy of the Belgian power system? To address this, we developed a probabilistic adequacy tool capable of analyzing large and complex systems, such as a country, while considering the coupled operation of electricity and hydrogen systems. This tool includes an economic dispatch model that minimizes load shedding and operational costs of the system. It incorporates network constraints via DC-OPF formulation, and integrates the interdependencies between the electricity and hydrogen systems. The hydrogen system encompasses electrolyzers, storage units, pipelines, hydrogen-to-power units, import points, and an annual hydrogen demand. From this model, key adequacy indicators such as Energy-not-served (ENS) and Loss-of-load (LOL) are derived. This model is integrated into a sequential Monte Carlo process to obtain expected values for these indicators (EENS and LOLE). The process also accounts for yearly uncertainties, including renewable energy production variability and technology unplanned outages. Then the coupled electricity-hydrogen system representative of Belgium in 2030 is analyzed with the latter. Various scenarios reflecting current uncertainties, such as grid and offshore wind farm expansions, and different flexibility means are also analyzed.

Jury members:

Prof. Emmanuel De Jaeger (UCLouvain, Belgium), supervisor

Prof. François Vallée (UMons, Belgium), supervisor

Prof. Sandra Soares-Frazao (UCLouvain, Belgium), chairperson

Prof. Hervé Jeanmart (UCLouvain, Belgium), secretary

Prof. Jacques LOBRY (UMons, Belgium)

Prof. Pierre Henneaux (ULB, Belgium)

Prof. Sylvain Quoilin (ULiège, Belgium)

Pay attention:

The public defense of Aurélia Hernandez scheduled for Wednesday 30 at 05:00 p.m. will also take place in the form of a video conference.

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