Methodological approach to the study of the electro-hydrogen system in northeast Asia

The article proposes a methodological approach to the development of the tools for studying the international electro-hydrogen system creation in Northeast Asia. The term "hydrogen carrier" was introduced and its definition was given. The resource, economic and technological prerequisites for the development of the unified regional infrastructure to produce, transfer, transform and utilise both electricity and "hydrogen carriers" for consumers of energy services are considered.
The author points out the need for a comprehensive consideration of technological, economic, social and political factors when developing such a complex technical system, which affects the diverse actors’ interests. In order to create mutual understanding and balance the stakeholders’ interests, the tool to evaluate the efficiency of such a system is necessary. The use of mathematical models is becoming one of the most vital and widespread techniques employed for this purposes. Thereby, the article deals with the structure and the development stages of the regional electrohydrogen model for Northeast Asia.
The review of the models that address the issues of hydrogen technologies and renewable energy integration into energy supply systems is given. The main types of the models used to describe such technical and economic systems are identified and it is concluded that the development of the two-level models system is necessary. The production and transport models at the upper (international) level should be the core of the proposed models system. At the lower level (the "green hydrogen carriers" production), the models of optimal resource management are required to determine the composition and parameters of the technological equipment. Step-by-step development of the models system is proposed. The first stage is the simplest scenario where only solar and wind energy is considered as an energy source. At this stage, it is possible to weed out inefficient technologies and identify targeted technologies and mechanisms for multilateral regional cooperation. The second stage should balance the interests of the actors and stakeholders. Here, the traditional renewable energy (biomass, hydro and pumped storage) along with carbon (thermal) and nuclear power generation, as well as other ("carbon") hydrogen technologies will become available for consideration. The final, third stage of the research tools development, will require separate accounting of "green" and "carbon" energy to consider certification mechanisms and energy pricing when building the international hydrogen system in Northeast Asia.
In conclusion, the structure of the first stage production and transport model is described. This model will allow estimating the comparative effectiveness of different electric and hydrogen technologies to deliver green energy to the consumers in the Northeast Asian economies.

1. Jiang Y. Size optimisation and economic analysis of a coupled wind-hidrogen system with curtailment decisions / Y. Jiang Z. Deng, S. You // International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. – 2019. – V.44 - № 7. – p. 19658-19666. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.06.035

2. Quarton C.J. The curious case of the conflicting roles of hydrogen in global energy scenarios / C.J. Quarton et al.// Sustainable Energy & Fuels. – 2020. – V.4 – p. 80. DOI: 10.1039/c9se00833k

3. Boretti A. Production of hydrogen for export from wind and solar energy, natural gas, and coal in Australia / A. Boretti // International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. – 2020. – V.45 - № 7. – p. 3899-3904. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.12.080

4. Liu, B. Economic study of a large-scale renewable hydrogen application utilizing surplus renewable energy and natural gas pipeline transportation in China / Liu, B. et al. // International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. – 2020. – V.45 - № 3. – p. 1385-1398. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.11.056

5. Pan, G. Economic study of a large-scale renewable hydrogen application utilizing surplus renewable energy and natural gas pipeline transportation in China / Pan,G. at al. // Applied Energy. – 2020. – V.270. – a.115176. DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.115176

6. Larscheid R. Potential of new business models for grid integrated water electrolysis / R. Larscheid et al. // Renewable Energy. – 2018. – V.125 – p. 599-608. DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2018.02.074

7. De-Le S. Hydrogen supply chain optimization for deployment scenarios in the Midi-Pyrenees region, France / S. De-Le et al. // International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. – 2014. – V.39 - № 23. – p. 11831- 11845. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2014.05.165

8. Timmerberg S. Hydrogen from renewables: Supply from North Africa to Central Europe as blend in existing pipelines – Potentials and costs / S.Timmerberg, M.Kaltschmitt // Applied Energy. – 2019. – V.237 – a . 795-809. DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.01.030

9. McDonagh S. Hydrogen from offshore wind: Investor perspective on the profitability of a hybrid system including for curtailment / S. McDonagh et al.// Applied Energy. – 2020. – V.265 – a.114732. DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.114732

10. Welder A. Design and evaluation of hydrogen electricity reconversion pathways in national energy systems using spatially and temporally resolved energy system optimization / A. Welder et al.// International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. – 2019. – V.44 - № 3. – p. 9594-9607. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.04.017

11. Han S. A multi-period MILP model for the investment and design planning of a national-level complex renewable energy supply system / S. Han, J. Kim // Renewable Energy. – 2019. – V.141 - p.736-750. DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2017.02.018

12. Samsatli S. Optimal design and operation of integrated wind-hydrogen-electricity networks for decarbonising the domestic transport sector in Great Britain / S. Samsatli, I. Staffell, N. Samsatli // International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. – 2016. – V.41 - № 1. – p. 447- 475. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.10.032

13. Samsatli S. The value of hydrogen and carbon capture, storage and utilisation in decarbonising energy: Insights from integrated value chain optimisation / S. Samsatli, N. Samsatli // Applied Energy. – 2020. – V.257 – a.113936. DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.113936

14. Samsatli S. A general mixed integer linear programming model for the design and operation of integrated urban energy systems / S. Samsatli, N. Samsatli // Journal of Cleaner Production. – 2018. – V.191 – p.458- 479. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.04.198

15. Samsatli S. A multi-objective MILP model for the design and operation of future integrated multivector energy networks capturing detailed spatiotemporal dependencies / S. Samsatli, N. Samsatli // Applied Energy. – 2018. – V.220 – p.893-920. DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.09.055

16. Samsatli S. The role of renewable hydrogen and inter-seasonal storage in decarbonising heat – Comprehensive optimisation of future renewable energy value chains / S. Samsatli, N. Samsatli // Applied Energy. – 2019. – V.233-234 – p.854-893. DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.09.159

17. Komiyama R. Energy modeling and analysis for optimal grid integration of large-scale variable renewables using hydrogen storage in Japan / R. Komiyama, T. Otsuki, Y. Fujii // Energy. – 2015. – V.81 - p. 537-555. DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2014.12.069

18. Otsuki T. Electric power grid interconnections in Northeast Asia: A quantitative analysis of opportunities and challenges / T. Otsuki, I.ABM, R.Samuelson // Energy Policy. – 2016. – V.89 - p. 311-329. DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2015.11.021

19. Otsuki T. Study on Surplus Electricity under Massive Integration of Intermittent Renewable Energy Sources / Otsuki T., Komiyama R., Fujii Y. // Electrical Engineering In Japan. – 2017. – V.201 - № 2. – p. 17-31. DOI: 10.1002/eej.22996

20. Otsuki T. Costs and benefits of large-scale deployment of wind turbines and solar PV in Mongolia for international power exports / T. Otsuki // Renewable Energy. – 2017. – V.108 - p. 321-335. DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2017.02.018

21. Otsuki T. Techno-economic Assessment of Hydrogen Energy in the Electricity and Transport Sectors Using a Spatially-disaggregated Global Energy System Model / T. Otsuki, R. Komiyama, Y. Fujii // Journal Of The Japan Institute of Energy. – 2019. – V.98 - № 4. – p. 62-72.

22. Otsuki T. Feasibility study on synthetic methane using an electricity and city gas supply model / T. Otsuki, Y. Shibata // IEEJ. – 2020. – https://eneken.ieej.or.jp/en/report_detail.php?article_info__id=8954

23. Zhang F. The survey of key technologies in hydrogen energy storage / F. Zhang et al. // International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. – 2016. – V.41 - № 33. – p.14535–14552. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2016.05.293

24. Tarkowski R. Underground hydrogen storage: Characteristics and prospects / R. Tarkowski // Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. – 2019. – V.105 – p.86-94. DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2019.01.051