HYSOLAR

In 1986, the Federal Republic of Germany and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement to co-operate in research, development and application in the field of solar hydrogen production (HYSOLAR). 

Photovoltaic HYSOLAR - A German-Saudi Arabian (Abaoud and Steeb, 1998 ... 

HYSOLAR Project and a Hypothetical International Project in Brazil for Hydrogen Production and Exportation (BHP) from Photovoltaic Energy and Secondary Hydroelectricity Combined Supply Da Silva, 1998)... 

Abaoud, H. and Steeb, H. (1998). The German-Saudi HYSOLAR program. 

Soltermann, O. E. and Da Silva, E. P. (1998). Comparative study between the hysolar project and a hypothetical international project in Brazil for hydrogen production and exportation (BHP) from photovoltaic energy and secondary hydroelectricity combined supply. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy,... 

Brinner A. http //www.hysolar.com for more details about 350 KW PV-electrolysis plant. 

An alternative approach is that of using solar energy lo produce chemicals that can be stored and transported much as present fossil fuels. One installation along these lines is now undergoing demonstration operation in Saudi Arabia, This project, known as HYSOLAR, is a joint venture of Saudi Arabia and Germany, In essence, die facility consists of a plant that produces hydrogen. See also Hydrogen (Fuel). 

The HYSOLAR project was carried out by DLR and the University of Stuttgart in co-operation with three Saudi universities. Phase I of the program lasted from 1985 to 1989 and consisted of the following activities ... 

System analysis for the assessment of the HYSOLAR program and of a utilisation program for the evaluation of safety, reliability and environmental aspects of the selected hydrogen application technologies, as well as of an educational and training program. 

Figure 4.1. The 350-kW electrolyser in Riyadh (left) and the Stuttgart HYSOLAR building (right) (Schucan, 2000)...

The overall cell-stack efficiency (relative to the lower heating value for hydrogen) has been found to be typically around 40%, with a maximum of 45% around nominal current. These values are very low compared to the values in excess of 60% found for other cases like the HYSOLAR Electrolyser 2 at DLR. Operation of the DLR electrolyser with intermittent loads proved that ... 

The Saudi-German HYSOLAR demonstration plant, near Riyadh, went into operation. 

After some 8 years of preparation and testing, some false starts, and some delays, HYSOLAR officially began churning out hydrogen from solar electricity in early 1994. Power was produced by an array of concentrator photovoltaic panels initially rated at 350 kilowatts. (The rating deteriorated over time to about 280 kW, in part because spare parts for one particular photovoltaic subfield ceased to become available, according to Steeb.)... 

In hydrogen production, HYSOLAR achieved an overall electrolysis efficiency of about 69 percent, according to a paper presented at the 1996 World Hydrogen Energy Conference. 

Among other topics, HYSOLAR analyzed the potential for decentralized power stations with integrated renewable energy features for remote areas and the economics of hybrid, conventional diesel, and fluctuating renewable energy systems (photovoltaic and wind). HYSOLAR s researchers produced more than 150 publications. 

Optimization algorithms slightly different from the described above were developed in [26, 27]. In particular, experimentally measured characteristics for the HYSOLAR plants in Riyadh and Stuttgart (see the preceding Sections) were used [27] for simulating the optimized plant. 

In further German projects (HySolar [13], SWB [14], PHOEBUS [15]), various other advanced alkaline water electrolyzers were developed, constructed and tested in conjunction with renewable solar energy. Since then, no new and innovative approaches in alkaline water electrolysis had been funded or pursued in Germany until the profound change that the introduction of the German Renewable Energies Act [2] brought about. 

Similar autonomous energy supply systems with renewable energy have been implemented in Saudi Arabia as a part of the German-Saudi Hysolar Program. Near Riyadh, a 350 kW solar hydrogen production demonstration plant was tested... 

Since 1985, worldwide, no fewer than twenty-five projects have been carried out with this aim. Here, we can cite the main ones HYSOLAR (1985), SWB (1986), NEMO (1989), FIRST (1989), SCHATZ (1989), FHG - ISE (1992), SAPHYS (1994), HRI(2000), HARI(2001), UTSIRA (2004), HHC(2004), CEC(2007),... 

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