Hydrogen Storage With Fuel Cell System as Diesel Substitute: Case of Java-Bali Island Grid System in Indonesia

The global push for renewable energy in electrical grids is crucial to offset the environmental impact of fossil fuel-based systems. In Indonesia, despite over 65% reliance on fossil fuels in 2022, the nation aims for full renewable energy dependence by 2060. Despite a surplus in power generation, grid balancing challenges persist, prompting interest in Power-to-Gas. This involves converting excess energy into hydrogen through water electrolysis, efficiently stored and distributed using natural gas infrastructure. It serves as fuel for hydrogen fuel cells, reducing reliance on diesel engines. Analyzing variables like fuel cell operation hours, electrolyzer type, and storage, the best scenario involves SOEC as the electrolyzer and compressed storage with LCOH and LCOE at 7.41 USD/kgH2 and 0.54 USD/kWh. Incorporating excess hydrogen reduces these values to 6.25 USD/kgH2 and 0.46 USD/kWh, and including savings from not using diesel engines further decreases them to 2.22 USD/kgH2 and 0.16 USD/kWh.