CSEE Journal of
Power & Energy Systems

CSEE JPES Forum on Utilization of Energy Storage and Hydrogen in Power and Energy Systems held online

2022-10-31

 

On October 11, 2022, the CSEE JPES forum on Utilization of Energy Storage and Hydrogen in Power and Energy Systems was held online via Zoom meeting. The forum was hosted by Prof. Yonghua Song, the Rector of the University of Macau, Director of the State Key Laboratory of Internet of Things for Smart City and Vice-Chair of CSEE JPES Editorial Board. Prof. Mohammad Shahidehpour from Illinois Institute of Technology, who is Director of the Robert W. Galvin Center for Electricity Innovation; Prof. Saifur Rahman from Virginia Tech, who is 2022 IEEE President-elect and Director of Virginia Tech Advanced Research; Prof. Nigel Brandon from Imperial College, who is Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Head of Department of Sustainable Electric Networks and Sources of Energy; as well as Prof. Kai Strunz from Technical University of Berlin were invited to give keynote speeches. The forum attracted more than 11,000 experts and scholars from power enterprises, universities and research institutes to watch the live broadcast online and participate in the exchange.

Opening Ceremony by Prof. Yonghua Song

 

On behalf of CSEE JPES, Professor Yonghua Song extended a warm welcome and heartfelt thanks to the academicians, experts and guests for attending this forum. He started by introducing the CSEE JPES which has always been focusing on reporting cutting edge ideas, technologies, method and practice related to power and energy systems, and is designed to showcase the latest technological achievements. The latest impact factor of CSEE JPES is 6.014, ranked in Q1 section. CSEE JPES has held several forums worldwide and make significant contribution to the publishing and communication of the latest research results in energy area. It is hoped that the success of this forum will further promote academic exchanges in the field and attract more scholars’ attention to the journal. Furthermore, Prof. Song thinks that accelerating the construction of new power system with new energy as the main body is an inevitable choice to achieve high-quality development of the power industry and he takes China as an example to further explain his view.

 

A number of well-known experts at home and abroad were invited to give keynote speeches at the forum, and the participating experts and scholars had extensive exchanges and discussions on various academic issues in related fields.

 

 

Keynote Speech by Prof. Mohammad Shahidehpour

 

Prof. Mohammad Shahidehpour delivered a keynote speech on “Fuel cell electric vehicle operations in coordinated hydrogen-integrated urban transportation and power distribution networks”. He pointed out that hydrogen has been advocated as a promising energy carrier to achieve low-carbon integration of urban transportation network (UTN) and renewable energy-based power distribution network (PDN). The report discussed the hydrogen refueling service fee (HRSF) as a scheduling strategy to guide hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (HFCEVs) in selecting the hydrogen refueling stations. The HRSF-based coordinated operation model was established to minimize the costs of UTN travel, PDN operation, and carbon emission. The proposed model was verified on the hydrogen integrated UTN and PDN in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States.

 

Keynote Speech by Prof. Saifur Rahman

 

Prof. Saifur Rahman presented a speech on “Role of energy storage and hydrogen in decarbonization”. Focusing on the decarbonization debate between industrialized countries and emerging economies, he proposed a diverse portfolio of solutions, including six priorities for reducing carbon emissions, i.e., energy efficiency applications, carbon capture systems, renewable energy integration, hydrogen and storage solutions, cross-border energy transfer, and advanced nuclear technologies. Then, he introduced electrochemical energy storage technologies, and compared a few mechanical energy storage technologies. In his opinion, the large-scale production of hydrogen from electricity and its efficient conversion back to electricity is still in the pilot-phase of development, even though a few large-scale projects have been completed around the world. Hydrogen is currently unable to compete with electrochemical energy storage like lithium-ion batteries for shorter duration services on a cost-basis. Transportation of hydrogen has very high potential.

 

Keynote Speech by Prof. Nigel Brandon

 

Prof. Nigel Brandon delivered a speech on “Innovations in electrolysers and flow batteries for longer term energy storage”, and started with “Why do we need longer term electrical energy storage?” He analyzed the daily UK total gas, all liquid transport fuels, and electrical demand. He summarized that additional hydrogen storage will deal with the power supply during low/no wind periods, and enhance the resilience of the power system. There will be an increasing demand for a longer term of electrical energy storage for periods from 10-12 hours to days or weeks as the energy system shifts to renewable power as its main input. The storage of a zero carbon molecule such as hydrogen using underground salt caverns offers the lowest cost of electrical energy storage for dealing with days to weeks of storage. For storage periods around 10-12 hours, the innovative hybrid hydrogen flow batteries look attractive, along with other options including compressed air and liquid air energy storage. He believed that the market mechanisms are needed in every country to allow these longer-term energy storage solutions to be valued and incentivised.

 

Keynote Speech by Prof. Kai Strunz

 

Prof. Kai Strunz delivered a speech on “Analysis of stakeholder roles and interactions in the context of energy market and power system integration of electric vehicles”. He introduced the stakeholder roles in the energy market communication and in distribution and interactions for the energy supply of electric vehicles. He believed that energy supply through daily contracts with electricity exchange platform operator resembles active solution for energy end users with variable energy prices, but requires market licenses and minimum capacity. Virtual power plants offer possibilities for the aggregation and coordination of decentralized renewable energy sources. Virtual power plant operators can provide energy services at variable prices, utilize the flexibility potential of electric vehicles and take over roles necessary to participate in the energy market. Compared to direct participation in the market, virtual power plants reduce the price risk of energy end users, providing them with a convenient solution.

 

Keynote Speech by Prof. Yonghua Song

 

Prof. Yonghua Song delivered a speech on “Frequency regulation via battery storage and water electrolysis: control strategy and implementation”. He proposed a sharing mode utilizing a large-scale BESS to help undertake the frequency regulation obligations for multiple RESs and provide AGC service in the ancillary service market simultaneously. In his opinion, more accurate modelling of BESS degradation needs to be considered in its operation and control strategy optimization. Future studies are necessary in the real-time control strategy for the shared BESS to provide PFR and AGC simultaneously. In addition, large-scale grid connected electrolysis system is expected to become an important support for power grid frequency stability in the future. The more accurate control method of large-scale electrolysis system responding to frequency regulation signal should be considered. And it is also important to consider the operational degradation of the electrolysis system in the bidding and operation of frequency regulation.

 

In the panel discussion, the experts fully exchanged views on the development and application of energy storage and hydrogen energy technology under the large-scale integration of new energy. Prof. Mohammad Shahidehpour pointed out that hydrogen production from surplus renewable energy to supply transportation has very considerable development prospects, such as supplying fuel cell vehicles and aviation. Regarding the energy system connected to electric vehicles, Prof. Kai Strunz emphasized that it is essential to integrate scattered and flexible resources. At this time, fleet operators and charging station operators need to play new roles to provide more comprehensive energy services. When referring to the application of innovative technology, Prof. Saifur Rahman stressed the importance of commercializing the application of technology. Prof. Nigel Brandon mentioned that universities should build a healthy innovation ecosystem, and while encouraging technological innovation, they should also strive to promote the commercial application of technology to help solve real-world problems. Prof. Saifur Rahman mentioned that when evaluating energy storage technology, hydrogen energy technology and other technologies, it should not be limited to the technical level, and it is necessary to consider the carbon emissions of the whole life cycle in practical engineering applications. Prof. Mohammad Shahidehpour mentioned that with the increase in the penetration rate of new energy in the power system, the hydrogen production technology can be used to improve the flexibility of the system and its ability to respond to extreme scenarios, but that requires the coordination of power systems and other infrastructures.

 

In this forum, the opinions on the coordination and operation in integrated energy system, design of electricity market, and new technologies in the field of hydrogen and energy storage were analyzed. The experts also shared experiences that could be used for the development of hydrogen energy and energy storage, as well as in the construction of new power systems.

 

So far, the CSEE JPES Forum has organized nine forums in Hong Kong, China, West Ross, Sweden and Beijing, China, etc. The topics covered new power systems, renewable energy, electric power market, and hydrogen, which have received wide attention from the industry, actively promoted the scientific and technological innovation and development in the fields of electricity and energy, and contributed to the exchange and publication of research results in the field of energy.