ITEG will develop and validate an integrated tidal energy and hydrogen production solution for clean energy generation to be demonstrated in Orkney. The project addresses energy related carbon emissions in North West Europe and will tackle grid export limitations faced in remote communities.
Led by the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, the ITEG project brings together partners from across the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands and will adopt three low carbon technologies (tidal turbine, electrolyser and Energy Management System)
The cost of pre-commercial demonstration for ocean energy is high and investors are reluctant to invest until the technology has been proven in the sea at scale. ITEG sets out to drive down these costs through the development of an integrated hydrogen production solution.
The integrated solution combines Orbital's next generation 2 MW floating tidal energy converter, the Orbital O2, with EMEC's 670 kW electrolyser and an onshore energy management system (EMS) at EMEC's onshore hydrogen production site on the Orkney island of Eday.
Initially due to complete in December 2022, ITEG received an approved project modification which will see the project run until September 2023.
In a context of global supply chain issues, the 0.5 MW hydrogen electrolyser initially scoped for ITEG could not be delivered by partner Elogen within the timeframe of the project. Elogen remains an active partner within the consortium and, as such, will support the production of valuable documentation on topics including lessons learned during manufacture, technological advances and scalability of electrolysers.
The updated combined tidal and hydrogen solution will use power generated by the Orbital O2, which was deployed at the Fall of Warness in 2021, to demonstrate hydrogen production from tidal energy using EMEC’s 670kW electrolyser with a smart onshore energy management system (EMS).
A recent vanadium flow battery installation on EMEC’s site will also be incorporated into the demonstration ‘to smooth’ the tidal power output and optimise hydrogen production.
The EMS system will enable EMEC to control whether the tidal power generated is fed into the national grid, directly into the electrolyser to produce hydrogen or into the battery to be stored and used at a later date.
Take a closer look at the ITEG project concept in our 360 video!
Project objectives
Develop and validate an integrated tidal energy and hydrogen production solution for clean energy generation in remote areas
Open new market opportunities for the ocean energy sector through hydrogen production and energy storage
Optimise the EMS and fast-track a clean energy generation, management and storage solution towards commercialisation
Build a roadmap to support the replication of the integrated solution in other remote, grid restricted areas
The following graphic shows how the three low carbon technologies will form an integrated hydrogen production solution;
Orbital O2 2MW tidal turbine animation
ITEG Consortium in Oostende, October 2019 (Credit University of Ghent)
Hero image at top of web page: Orbital O2 Orkney arrival (Credit Orbital)
The 10th Annual Scottish Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Conference takes place on Wednesday 26th September 2018 in Dundee, one of Scotland’s most vibrant cities. This one day conference will highlight the substantial progress being made in Scotland with the deployment of hydrogen and fuel cells as key components of an integrated low carbon and zero emission system.
Speakers will provide updates on use of hydrogen and fuel cells to enable more renewable energy to be captured and used effectively, coupling energy with transport, and tackling ‘hard to treat’ areas such as heat and industry.
The 2018 SHFCA conference will share best practice for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in delivering low carbon energy systems. During this event we will:
Showcase Scottish innovation with deployment of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies
Highlight the importance of partnership working and international collaboration
Present current thinking and identify future trends across our industry Read More
Deliverable D.I: 1.1.1 | Assessment of water supply options and impact of using seawater on the design of electrolysers to be sited on Eday (July 2019)
LT.2.3: Opportunities for Roll-Out of Tidal Generation with Electrolysis Across North West Europe Benefits, Impacts, Configuration and Potential Sites for Maximum Value (August 2022)
M. R. Barakat, B.T. Ighil, H. Gualous, and D. Hissel, “Modeling of a Hybrid Marine Current- Hydrogen Active Power Generation System.”
A paper by M. R. Barakat, B.T. Ighil, H. Gualous, and D. Hissel published in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy Vol 44, Issue 19, pp. 9621-35, April 2019
“This paper presents the modeling and the simulation of a hybrid marine current-hydrogen power generation system. The marine current power generation system consists of a fixed pitch marine current turbine directly coupled to a permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG). The generator is connected to a DC link capacitor via a controlled rectifier, which has two modes of operation. The first mode is the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) by using torque control when the generator runs below the rated speed. The second mode is the power limitation (at the rated value) when the generator runs above the nominal speed. The generated power is transferred from the DC-link to the load via an inverter to run the system in a stand-alone operation mode. An energy storage system must cover the difference between the generation and the consumption for this scheme. The hydrogen, compared with the different energy storage systems, exhibits characteristics more applicable for marine current power generation systems. When the generated power is higher than the load requirements, a Megawatt-scale proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer consumes the surplus energy for hydrogen generation. The generated hydrogen is stored in tanks to feed a PEM fuel cell system to generate power in case of shortage. Based on this topology and operation procedure, the overall system is called an active power generation system. The MW scale PEM electrolyzer model is presented based on state of the art and the literature of different scales PEM electrolyzer system modeling”.
M. R. Barakat, B.T. Ighil, H. Gualous, and D. Hissel, “JADE Based Multi-Agent Decentralized Energy Management System of a hybrid Marine-Hydrogen Power Generation System.”
Oral presentation in Proceedings of ELECTRIMACS 2019, the 13th international conference of the IMACS TC1 Committee Salerno, Italy, from 21st-23rd May 2019.
Also featured in book ELECTRIMACS 2019 edited by Springer
“This paper presents the decentralized JADE (Java Agent Development Environment) based Multi-Agent System (MAS) oriented to the energy management and balance of the hybrid marine-hydrogen power generation system. The proposed hybrid marine-hydrogen system consists of a fixed pitch direct drive tidal turbine, a MegaWatt (MW) scale proton exchange membrane electrolyzer, and fuel cell and a Li-ion battery stack. The different components are coupled together on a DC-link via different topologies of power electronics converters for feeding a residential load as isolated system architecture. The MW scale electrolyzer and fuel cell systems represent the main elements of the hydrogen energy storage system. An isolated mode of operation is programmed to evaluate the MAS capability of energy management and balance considering the marine current intermittency and the demand-side variations. The proposed energy management system considers the safe operations of the electrolyzers, fuel cell and battery by considering their constraints and dynamics.”
A. Alex, R. Petrone, B. Tala-Ighil, D. Bozalakov, L. Vandevelde, H. Gualous, Optimal techno-enviro-economic analysis of a hybrid grid connected tidal-wind-hydrogen energy system
Paper by A. Alex, R. Petrone, B. Tala-Ighil, D. Bozalakov, L. Vandevelde, H. Gualous published in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol 47, issue 86, pp. 36448-36464, 2022
“The study deals with the techno-enviro-economic aspects of hydrogen production using polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysers powered by a hybrid grid-connected tidal-wind energy system. System modelling is presented initially. The energy management strategies for hydrogen production are then analysed as rule-based approach and as optimised approach. An objective function to maximise the operating profit under optimal system operation is formulated considering the variable energy costs, capital and maintenance expenditure, and real system constraints. A comprehensive cost analysis of the system is obtained by comparing two different optimisation approaches based on fixed cost and levelised cost factors, respectively. Towards reaching this goal, the use of mixed integer genetic algorithm optimisation is investigated. The operation of electrolyser in terms of its different operating modes, namely stop, running, and stand-by is presented. The dynamic optimisation of an electrolyser capable of working at up to twice its nominal rating for a limited duration is also analysed in the study. The results of the optimisation approach are 41.5% and 47% higher than the rule-based approach in terms of the annualised profit and carbon emission savings, respectively. In addition, the recurrent switching of electrolyser unit operating modes is avoided with the optimisation approach, reducing the associated energy consumption of about 27.2 MWh annually. The proposed model can be used as a generic tool for hydrogen production analysis under different contexts and it is especially applicable in high green energy potential sites with constrained grid facilities.”
M. R. Barakat, B.T. Ighil, H. Gualous, and D. Hissel, “Energy Management of a Hybrid Tidal Turbine-Hydrogen Micro-Grid: Losses Minimization Strategy.”
Oral presentation at the 8th International Conference on “Fundamentals & Development of Fuel Cells” held in Nantes, France, from February 12th to February 14th, 2019. Session 6c: Hydrogen Systems: Design, Energy Management System and Converters
A. Alex, R. Petrone, H. Obeid, B. Tala-Ighil, L. Vandevelde, H. Gualous, ITEG - Tidal energy integration with hydrogen production: a case study for energy management optimisation
A. Alex, R. Petrone, B. Tala-Ighil, H. Obeid, H. Gualous and L. Vandevelde, Electrolytic hydrogen production from tidal energy: A technical and economic perspective.
Poster selected for presentation at EWETEC 2021, Plymouth, UK, 2021
Poster on 'Electrolytic hydrogen production from tidal energy: A technical and economic perspective.' presented at EWTEC 2021, Plymouth UK: https://ewtec.org/ewtec-2021/
To cite: Ansu Alex. Tidal stream energy integration with green hydrogen production : energy management and system optimisation. Electric power. Normandie Université, 2022. English. ffNNT : 2022NORMC216ff. fftel-03912681f
Dimitar Bozalakov, Kaveh Dadkhah, Lieven Vandevelde, ITEG: INTEGRATING TIDAL ENERGY INTO THE EUROPEAN GRID
The main challenges for renewable energy integration in electrical grid system are their variability and prediction. Tidal renewable energy is considered low variability in comparison to wind energy generation and due to tides regular periodicity, it is often quoted as predictable. This paper presents the modeling of Orkney's distribution network with the integration of tidal energy. This multi-physics model is based on the graphical formalism tool, Energetic Macroscopic Representation (EMR). This tool has been used to analyze the Tidal energy conversion (TEC) system based on the behavior of permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM). The daily, monthly and yearly variations of marine water speed in Orkney were observed. The EMR has been efficiently used in the representation of Orkney energy system integration of Orbital O2 tidal systems, and showing its effectiveness to adopt the control strategy. More precisely, the data of current water profile for 2009 has been chosen from 10 years big data to test the adopted deduced control technique. The methodology of this tool is described in details and the simulation results obtained in MATLAB environment are presented.
Ahmed AL AMERI, Alireza PAYMAN, Mamadou Baïlo CAMARA, Brayima DAKYO, “Control Strategy for Orbital O2 Tidal System Based on EMR model”
Presentation at 14th International Conference of TC-Electrimacs (ELECTRIMACS2022), Nancy, France, 16-19 May 2022
Presentation at 14th International Conference of TC-Electrimacs (ELECTRIMACS2022), Nancy, France, 16-19 May 2022
Matt Beeson, Chris Ward, HYDROGEN GENERATION ON ORKNEY: INTEGRATING ESTABLISHED RISK MANAGEMENT BEST PRACTICE TO EMERGING CLEAN ENERGY SECTOR
Conference paper presented at International Conference for Hydrogen Safety (ICHS), Edinburgh, 2021
View paper here: https://hysafe.info/uploads/papers/2021/20.pdf
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Find the links below to watch the ITEG webinar series.
The 4 part series took place between 2021 and 2023, featuring various guest speaker who provide insight into the ITEG project and related research in tidal energy, hydrogen production and end use applications as well as the discussion around the scale up.
ITEG Webinar Series | Part 1: The Importance of Tidal Energy in a Clean Hydrogen Economy
In the first webinar of the ITEG series, we discuss the important contribution that tidal energy can bring to achieving global carbon emission reduction targets. Speakers discuss the latest tidal innovations under development and how integration with hydrogen production could open up new market opportunities for the ocean energy sector.
The webinar will also share insight from the ITEG project: an integrated tidal energy and hydrogen production solution for clean energy generation to be demonstrated in Orkney.
This webinar featuring speakers from Smart Hydrogen Consulting, HyEnergy Consultancy, EMEC, Orbital Marine Power and HydroWing.
ITEG Webinar Series | Part 2: Clean Energy Pathways & Next Generation Hydrogen Valleys
For our second ITEG webinar, we look at exemplar hydrogen valleys in Europe and discuss how new clean energy pathways, including marine energy, can contribute to the development of the next generation of hydrogen valleys.
Chaired by EMEC, this webinar will feature speakers from New Energy Coalition, the Green Hysland project, TECO2030 and Hydrogen Ireland.
ITEG Webinar Series | Part 3: Sector Coupling & Scaling for Widescale Hydrogen Roll Out
In the third webinar in the ITEG series, we discuss the need for sector coupling to enable large scale roll out of clean hydrogen and realise the benefits of a wide scale hydrogen ecosystem.
This webinar features speakers from Elogen, Energy Systems Catapult, SSE Renewables and the Port of Rotterdam.
ITEG Webinar Series | Part 4: Strategies for Successful Hydrogen Deployment and Integration
In the fourth and final webinar in the ITEG series, we discuss initial lessons learnt from the soon to conclude Interreg funded ITEG Project (Integrating Tidal Energy in the European Grid).
Chaired by Smart Hydrogen Consulting, this webinar will feature speakers from EMEC, University of Galway and HyEnergy.
The panel will discuss the project achievements and consider the key factors, including policy, to provide the framework for wide scale future hydrogen deployments.
