Application of a Regional Data Set of the Housing Sector for Hydrogen Storage-Supported Energy System Planning

Germany aims to achieve a national climate-neutral energy system by 2045. The residential sector still accounts for 29% of end energy consumption, with 74% attributed to the direct use of fossil fuels for heating and hot water. In order to reduce fossil energy use in the household sector, great efforts are being made to design new energy concepts that expand the use of renewable energies to supply electricity and heat. One possibility is to convert parts of the natural gas grid to a hydrogen-based gas grid to deliver and store energy for urban quarters of buildings, especially with older building stock where electrification of heat via heat pumps is difficult due to technical, acoustical, and economic reasons. A comprehensive dataset was generated by a bottom-up analysis with open governmental and statistical data to determine regional building types regarding energy demand, solar potential, and existing grid infrastructure. The buildings’ connections to the electricity, gas, and district heating networks are considered. From this, a representative sample dataset was chosen as input for a newly developed energy system model based on energy flow simulation. The model simulates the interaction of hydrogen generation (HG) (from excess solar energy by electrolysis), storage in a metal-hydride storage (MHS) tank, and hydrogen use in a connected fuel cell (FC), forming a local PVPtGtHP (Photovoltaic Power-to-Gas-to-Heat-and-Power) network. Next to the seasonal hydrogen storage path (HSP), a battery will complete the system to form a hybrid energy storage system (HESS). Paired with seasonal time series for PV power, electricity and heat demand, and a model for connection to grid infrastructure, the simulation of different hydrogen applications and MHS placements aims to analyze operating times and energy share of the systems’ equipment and existing infrastructure. The method to obtain the data set together with the simulation model presented can be used by energy planners for cities, communities, and building developers to analyze the potentials of a quarter or region and plan a transition towards a more energy-efficient and sustainable energy system.