Omani student project to produce green hydrogen via water electrolysis

Shinas: The student, Maryam bint Abdullah Al Balushi, majoring in electrical engineering at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences in Shinas, was able to innovate the project “Economic and Technical Analysis of the Photovoltaic Cells/Fuel Cells/Diesel Generators System” based on solar energy for residential applications in the Sultanate of Oman. Which is based on producing green hydrogen through electrolysis of water, then storing it, and then converting it into electrical energy.

She said: The project went through several stages, namely: collecting information related to the project from various research sources, then working on the HOMER-Pro program, determining a location in the Sultanate of Oman (Wilayat Shinas) and collecting all meteorological data from the NASA database, then entering it in the system, after that the system was designed in the program and a comparison was made between different models to obtain the best results, all the way to implementing the project in a miniature form to make the working method clear.

She added that the project aims to discuss the production or generation of green hydrogen from the water electrolysis process using direct current from solar cells. Furthermore, to study the feasibility of a 2.39 kilowatt portable power generation facility using a PEM fuel cell, which can be used to electrify residential or remote areas, and also conduct Feasibility analysis of Shinas site using RETScreen program. She explained that the project is used for power generation, heating applications, energy storage, and automotive applications, and consists of solar cells, a diesel generator, an electrolyzer, a fuel cell (PEM), a hydrogen tank, and an electrical converter or inverter.

She said: All countries in the world are currently turning to renewable energy to reach zero neutrality, and hydrogen is a fuel with a high energy density compared to any other traditional fuel. In addition, generating electricity using a PEM fuel cell does not produce any emissions and also reduces the percentage of diesel consumption. It can be used for remote areas far from the electrical grid.

The student worked on the project under the supervision of Arun Gopinath, a lecturer in the Engineering Department at the university. Regarding the development of the project, she said: Ideas for developing the project in the future were discussed, which is to establish a laboratory-scale unit for hydrogen generation and power generation using PEM technologies. This will be useful for researchers as well as students in learning how to use green hydrogen technologies. In addition, we will conduct a feasibility study for generation models. Hybrids that combine renewable energy sources such as wind and waves in marine and onshore models in different locations in the Sultanate of Oman, all of which will have hydrogen generation and electricity generation options.