Fuel cells-based trigeneration system powered by hydrogen for a small-medium airport: numerical analysis upon varying the control strategy

Abstract Green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy through electrolysis, can power fuel cells, thus creating a sustainable energy solution to achieve the ultimate objective of net zero emissions by 2050. Airports account for 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 13% of emissions from the EU’s transportation sector. In order to meet the thermal, cooling and electric needs of a small- to medium-sized airport, a novel containerized modular trigeneration system (called “Hydro-Gen”), based on Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) fuelled with green hydrogen, has been investigated in this study. The economic and energy performance of the proposed trigeneration system serving the small- to medium-sized Seve Ballesteros-Santander Airport have been dynamically simulated and analysed via the TRaNsient SYStem simulation tool. In particular, the analyses have been carried out by operating the PEMFCs under both electric-load following and thermal-load following control logics during a period of one-year. The simulation results indicated that, in comparison with a conventional energy-generating scenario, the proposed trigeneration scheme can achieve significant savings in terms of primary energy demand, while the potential economic benefits are highly related to the unit cost of green hydrogen.