A team of researchers from Hamad Bin Khalifa University has developed an innovative autonomous system powered by solar energy, designed to produce fresh water and green hydrogen from brackish water resources present in the most remote desert areas. This system, which covers an area of 10,456 m², uses an ice storage climate system, metal hydride containers for hydrogen storage and a fuel cell designed to manage fluctuations in solar radiation.
The system, according to the researchers, represents a unique integration of bifacial photovoltaic technologiesproduction of brackish water, freezing desalination with ice storage for conditioning, and green hydrogen production, all supported by thermally coupled tanks for hydrogen storage. The main purpose is to support agricultural activities in desert environments characterized by extreme temperatures.
Nurettin Sezer, one of the leading scholars, explained that the system uses LaNi5 as a means of storage. Among the technologies used, we find bifacial modules with an efficiency of 23.6%, a polymer membrane electrolyser (PEM) with an efficiency of 74.5% for the volt component and 58.8% for the energy component, as well as to a fuel cell with respective efficiencies of 64.6% and 62.5%.
Exceptional performance in extreme conditions
The system, described in a study published in Desalinationhas demonstrated an ability to generate 2.4 MWh per day of electricity, 52.8 m³ per day of fresh water, 6.3 MWh per day of air conditioning And 177 kg of hydrogen per dayintended for energy storage for night-time use. During the day, the system achieved an energy efficiency of 17.8% and an exergy efficiency of 13.5%, while during the night these percentages rose to 56% and 34.9%, respectively.
Sezer also underlined that the processes of brackish water production, desalination and ice accumulation work continuously, while the electrolyser operates exclusively during the day and the fuel cell comes into operation at night. However, further technical-economic studies are needed to optimize the system.
Investments in green hydrogen: BP and SunHydrogen look to the future
In addition to Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s progress, other companies are rapidly advancing in the field of green hydrogen. BPfor example, approved the “Lingen Green Hydrogen” project in Lower Saxony, Germanywhich involves the construction of a 100 MW plant, capable of producing up to 11,000 tons of green hydrogen per year. The plant will be BP’s largest ever and will be directly interconnected to the main hydrogen grid.
At the same time, the American SunHydrogen has successfully completed a demonstration of its 1 m² scale hydrogen production system. The company announced that its 100 cm² modules, developed in collaboration with CTF Solarachieved a solar-hydrogen efficiency of 10.8% at the research facility of Honda in Japan. This result represents a stepping stone for the selection of sites for larger-scale pilot demonstrations, expected in the near future.
