Energy storage systems represent one of the key solutions for promoting the adoption of renewable energy sources, enabling a balance between production and consumption. In addition to battery-based storage systems that manage daily fluctuations in generation and consumption, it is necessary to integrate storage systems capable of compensating for seasonal variations in non-programmable renewable sources. One possible solution for seasonal storage is hydrogen, which can be produced from renewable sources, stored, and converted into other forms of energy when needed.

The realization of a hybrid storage system that integrates batteries and hydrogen to achieve both daily and seasonal storage capacity involves sizing each component. To perform this sizing considering technical objectives, such as increasing self-consumption, and economic objectives, such as cost reduction, a software tool has been developed in Matlab environment to solve the problem of optimal sizing of a hybrid storage system to reduce total costs.

This tool allows for the optimization of the size of the battery, hydrogen storage, fuel cell, and electrolyzer to maximize the net present value over the system’s lifetime. By using a simulation of the overall system operation, managed by a rule-based energy management system, the software evaluates the total costs of the system and its net present value by varying the sizes of the hybrid storage components. The net present value is then utilized by a metaheuristic optimization method that iteratively updates the sizes of the model components until its maximization.

The tool optimizes the sizing of each component of the hybrid storage system with reduced computational weight. It allows for sizing the elements of the hybrid energy storage system (HESS) and the renewable energy production system. Moreover, it is flexible, can be adapted to different layouts of hybrid storage systems and scenarios, and can be used to conduct sensitivity analyses on the costs and performances of the components, helping to identify the point at which an investment becomes positive or ensuring a desired return on investment.

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