Bumped into this DoE article while researching EPA's Clean Power Plan. It basically says EU and Germany looking into how to convert excess energy into H2 for storage of energy. Power-to-gas brings a new focus to the issue of energy storage from renewable sources - Today in Energy - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
We should see more of this as more renewables get onto the grid. It should be noted that Europe is also looking into taking this a step further to make methane from the hydrogen and CO2, and Audi goes one more for a light syncrude to make into diesel.
Interesting. They are using hydrogen to store electricity instead of batteries. More cost effective on commercial scale? Power-to-gas is a storage solution that can help address grid-stability problems that arise when an increasing share of power is generated from sources that have a highly variable output. Solar and wind accounted for nearly 5% of U.S.net electricity generation in 2014, and they are forecast to account for a greater share of the emerging generation portfolio, particularly in scenarios where policies such as the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed Clean Power Plan reduce reliance on existing fossil-fueled generation are implemented. Currently, electric grid balancing is done through the increased use of conventional power stations when renewable power generation falls off, or in some cases through the disconnection of renewable sources when the amount of power generated exceeds the requirements or capacity of the distribution grid. In the future, renewable generation may provide new opportunities for energy storage, which is likely to continue to grow in importance. Edit: South Africa has been using hydrogen fuel cell to stabilize grid demand. http://allafrica.com/stories/201508181562.html
Yes, electrolyzing water with excess renewable electric, and then powering a fuel cell with the hydrogen later could prove to be a better way of storing energy than batteries for the grid. It comes down to production and operation costs. Stationary fuel cells used this simply don't have to deal with the same issues a hydrogen car does. Weight of the hydrogen storage isn't a concern, and, more importantly, neither is its size. The limits there is real estate costs; low enough, and enough space, low pressure, more energy efficient, tanks can be used. With production and the fuel cell on the same site, there is no need for distribution infrastructure.
