Optimal operation of local multi-energy systems: Integrating energy generation and hydrogen storage

Amin, Amin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6891-5640, Petri, Ioan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1625-8247, Minett, Simon, Rana, Omer ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3597-2646 and Parr, Mike 2026. Optimal operation of local multi-energy systems: Integrating energy generation and hydrogen storage. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments 91 , 105053. 10.1016/j.seta.2026.105053

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Abstract

The integration of renewable energy, storage, and hydrogen technologies within local multi-energy systems introduces operational challenges due to intermittent generation and fluctuating demand. Effective optimisation is crucial to balance energy flows, minimise operational costs, and reduce carbon emissions while maintaining system reliability. Despite significant advances in multi-objective optimisation, comprehensive system-level evaluations of optimisation strategies applied to community-scale electricity–hydrogen systems remain limited. This paper develops and validates a multi-objective optimisation framework for a real pilot community that coordinates electricity and hydrogen production to enhance local energy self-sufficiency, reduce grid dependency, and improve cost-effectiveness. Three widely adopted optimisation methods – mixed-integer linear programming (MILP), particle swarm optimisation (PSO), and non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) – are benchmarked to assess their performance in terms of grid interaction, operational cost, and carbon emissions. Results demonstrate that MILP achieved the fastest convergence and most reliable solutions, whereas PSO and NSGA-II provided flexibility for nonlinear objectives but required significantly longer runtimes. The MILP-based framework achieved 97.5%–100% reduction in grid imports, 80%–85% cost savings, and 22%–45% carbon emission reductions. Hydrogen production reached 80 tonnes annually, with 6 tonnes injected into the local gas network, reducing demand by 7.2%. The findings confirm the technical and economic feasibility of optimised community-scale electricity–hydrogen systems and provide a replicable framework to support net-zero energy transitions.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Engineering Schools > Computer Science & Informatics
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, Start Date: 2026-05-22
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	2213-1388
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	3 June 2026
Date of Acceptance:	17 May 2026
Last Modified:	04 Aug 2026 23:47
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/187395

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