2026-09-22 –, Energy (R2002)
Renewable deployment requires hydrogen storage decoupling production from demand, and metal hydride systems offer a safe, low-pressure, high-density option. Within the EU REMEDHYS project, a solid-state storage system based on an intermetallic alloy produced from recycled European metals is coupled to a 2 MW proton exchange membrane electrolyser. This paper presents a modular, equation-based Modelica model of the balance of plant of both subsystems, comprising eleven control loops, measured pressure-composition isotherms and a pseudo-twodimensional discretisation of the hydride bed. A 2 MW to 1 MW load step, a full absorption-desorption cycle, a sensitivity analysis and a coupled scenario feeding twenty cassettes are simulated. The hydrogen delivered per cycle falls from 4281 to 3292 g as the delivery pressure rises from 1 to 5 bar and doubles between 50 and 70 ◦C. Coupled to the electrolyser, a cassette charges in 6.6 h and stops discharging at a state of charge of 0.24, limited by the alloy equilibrium pressure.
Michele Bolognese is a researcher at the HyRES Unit of the Center for Sustainable Energy, Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK), Trento, Italy, where he leads the dynamic system modelling activity. His research is centred on physics-based dynamic modelling of hydrogen energy systems in the Modelica language, covering low- and high-temperature electrolysis (alkaline, PEM and solid oxide), reversible solid oxide systems, metal hydride hydrogen storage, and syngas purification by pressure and temperature swing adsorption. His work addresses balance-of-plant design, control strategy development and the assessment of transient operation under variable renewable supply. He has contributed to several European projects, including INSHIP, SWITCH, HYCARE, AMON, PROMETEO, REMEDHYS and CLEANER, and to national initiatives such as COMESTO, in which power electronics for multiple storage technologies were modelled in Ansys Simplorer. In 2022 he received the Young Scientist Award in the hydrogen production category from Hydrogen Europe Research. Since 2026 he has been a member of the international Modelica Association
