Assessment of the exergy and economic analysis of solar energy-based electricity and hydrogen production system

In the presented study, an experimental study of a solar-assisted electricity and hydrogen production system was evaluated. The study focuses on green hydrogen production with a new design. This study includes the main equipment parts of evacuated tube heat pipe solar collector (ETHPSC), Organic Rankine cycle (ORC) and proton exchange membrane electrolyzer (PEME). Second law balance equations of thermodynamics were established for each equipment used in the solar energy-supported electricity and hydrogen production system and the thermodynamic efficiency of the system was calculated. As a result of the study, the net electricity production obtained from the ORC system was measured as 1,317 kW. The exergy efficiency of the whole system was calculated as 2.39%. In addition, when all the electrical energy obtained is spent on hydrogen production, 0.02713 g/day hydrogen is produced. In addition, the cost of solar-assisted hydrogen production is calculated as approximately 1.72 $/kg.