K u rzfassu n g sb an d - Graz University of Technology

64 Energieinnovation 2006
3.2.4 „ Analysis of the regional development of a hydrogen infrastructure
using a German energy system model supported by
a Geographic Information System (GIS)”
Michael Ball, Philipp Seydel*, Martin Wietschel (Fraunhofer Institut für
Systemtechnik und Innovationsforschung) 1
Due to the high oil and gas prices and environmental concern during the last years, the different
energy systems are being forced to close ranks. The scarcity of resources such as biofuels leads to
increasing competition between the power sector, the heating sector and the transport sector. A
projected increase in global energy demand, the economic and geopolitical implications of future
shortcomings in the supply of oil and natural gas, and consequently concerns about energy supply
security have recently put the discussion about hydrogen as a future energy carrier back on the
agenda. Of all the alternative fuels presently being discussed with respect to meeting the long-term
demand for automotive fuels, hydrogen seems particularly promising. Currently, strategies for the
implementation of a hydrogen economy are being developed in the EU, the USA and Japan. If
hydrogen turns out to be the future fuel, then the connection between the electricity, heating and
transport energy demand will be even closer than it is at present due to the wide range of potential
hydrogen feedstocks.
The MOREHyS 2 model, developed by Fraunhofer ISI in cooperation with DFIU, is a bottom-up, mixedinteger,
linear optimisation model with exogenous demand for electricity, heat and hydrogen. The
model determines the minimum cost of production and new investments given some constraints for
each year such as maximum emission levels or regional limitations for generation capacities, e.g. of
wind or hydropower, which might affect the current energy mix. The objective function used for the
optimisation is cost minimisation for the whole region each year (myopic approach). For the structure
of MOREHyS, see Figure 1.
Infrastructure costs for the transport and distribution of hydrogen are partially determined by the
topological characteristics of the considered regions, while production costs for hydrogen are often
site-specific. In order to take these “real world” costs into account in the analysis of a hydrogen-based
transport system, MOREHyS is linked to a GIS (Geographic Information System). The GIS is used for
the estimation of the costs of different hydrogen transport modes (trailer, pipeline, etc.) for selected
geographical areas and production technologies (e.g. hydrogen production from wind-offshore parks in
northern Germany). This is done by taking into account aspects such as characteristics of the terrain
(urban, mountainous, along major raods) or relative distances between production sites and demand
centres. The GIS provides cost data for the transport matrix used in the energy system model.
As hydrogen production has to compete for the same primary energy carriers as conventional heat
and electricity generation, the model assesses the resulting impact on the national energy mix and the
subsequent consequences for electricity utilities. This includes, for example, the potential utilisation of
power plants for hydrogen production (especially IGCCs), the effects of an increased demand for
natural gas on its price development (taken into account by means of cost-potential curves) and
capacity constraints of gas pipelines. A further aspect is the availability and long-term relevance of
renewable energies for the production of hydrogen via electrolysis compared to the conventional feedin
of electricity. In addition, the economic and environmental impacts of integrating hydrogen
production and distribution into the German energy system are assessed, such as the impact on CO 2
emissions and primary energy consumption.
1 Fraunhofer Institute Systems and Innovation Research (Fraunhofer ISI),
Breslauer Str. 48, 76139 Karlsruhe, Germany, Phone +49 721/6809-352,
e-mail: philipp.seydel@isi.fraunhofer.de, www.isi.fraunhofer.de;
2
MOREHyS (Model for Optimisation of Regional Hydrogen Supply); ongoing research at the
University of Karlsruhe: “Integration of a H2 economy into the German energy system”;