June 12, 2020
Japan is facing a severe challenge regarding its heavy dependence on fossil fuels: currently they account for 89% of total energy consumption. After the Great East Earthquake, energy security and vulnerability have become critical issues facing the Japanese energy system. The integration of renewable energy sources to meet specific regional energy demand is a promising scenario to overcome these challenges. To this aim, this paper proposes a novel hydrogen-based hybrid renewable energy system (HRES), in which hydrogen fuel can be produced using solar electrolysis and supercritical water gasification (SCWG) of biomass feedstock. The hydrogen would function as an energy storage medium by storing renewable energy until a fuel cell converts it to electricity.