Techno‐Economic Analysis of Hydrogen as a Storage Solution in an Integrated Energy System for an Industrial Area in China

This study proposes four kinds of hybrid source–grid–storage systems consisting of pho‐ tovoltaic and wind energy, and a power grid including different batteries and hydrogen storage systems for Sanjiao town. HOMER‐PRO was applied for the optimal design and techno‐economic analysis of each case, aiming to explore reproducible energy supply solutions for China’s industrial clusters. The results show that the proposed system is a fully feasible and reliable solution for in‐ dustry‐based towns, like Sanjiao, in their pursuit of carbon neutrality. In addition, the source‐side price sensitivity analysis found that the hydrogen storage solution was cost‐competitive only when the capital costs on the storage and source sides were reduced by about 70%. However, the hydro‐ gen storage system had the lowest carbon emissions, about 14% lower than the battery ones. It was also found that power generation cost reduction had a more prominent effect on the whole system’s NPC and LCOE reduction. This suggests that policy support needs to continue to push for genera‐ tion‐side innovation and scaling up, while research on different energy storage types should be en‐ couraged to serve the needs of different source–grid–load–storage systems.