Renewables exploitation via hydrogen production in gas turbine test facilities: The ZEHTC Project

In order to pursue the goals of de-carbonization and renewable sources exploitation, an efficient, cost-effective and environmental friendly employment of energy systems is mandatory. In this context, the ERA-Net funded Project ZEHTC (Zero Emission Hydrogen Turbine Center) has been developed, aimed at the realization of a pilot plant consisting in the world first gas turbine test facility making use of the power produced during turbine tests - along with renewables (solar in particular) - for hydrogen production and batteries storage. The produced hydrogen will be locally used to run the gas turbine, thus reducing its environmental impact. The aim of this paper is to present the results of the first steps of the project, consisting in the definition of an optimized grid and in the development of a calculation model for the optimal energy systems design. To this respect, the typology of energy systems to be included into the grid (in addition to the current set-up of the existing turbine test center) will be presented. In addition, the mathematical models specifically developed for each component, as well as the developed operational logic of the entire grid, will be presented and discussed in order to set the optimal size of each systems.