SIRIO-H2: Inference, Response and Operational Integration System for optimum control in green hydrogen production.

Project description

The cost of hydrogen (LCOH) is strongly influenced by dynamic efficiency, electrolyser degradation, and energy price volatility. Therefore, optimising plant operation is essential to reduce CAPEX and keep OPEX under control.

We apply optimal predictive control to adjust plant setpoints in real time by anticipating energy prices and renewable energy production. This approach minimises energy consumption, ramping, and equipment degradation, while increasing availability and capturing the most favourable market prices, thereby improving arbitrage margins. The controller operates based on a comprehensive nonlinear physical model of the electrolyser, covering electrochemical and thermal behaviour, degradation, and storage, and solves an adjustable optimisation horizon every 15 minutes.

The solution has been implemented and validated in a simulated environment for a 2.5 MW alkaline electrolysis plant, using real electricity market prices at 15-minute resolution. Our controller has consistently demonstrated improvements in operating margins ranging from 0.5% to 27% compared with benchmark strategies, across different demand and renewable generation profiles and plant configurations. These benchmark strategies include constant-power operation, demand following, price-threshold strategies, and linear optimisation models. In parallel, our platform under development enables users to configure the plant and explore operational efficiency under different market scenarios, PPAs, renewable generation profiles, and demand profiles.

As a deep-tech company, we are also developing a QUBO formulation for the power dispatch problem that can be solved using quantum computing. This approach is aimed at scaling optimisation to large-scale plants, in coordination with the optimal control solution.

The project is aligned with other strategic deployments in the Basque Country and supports the integration of local renewable energy sources, grid stability, functional safety, and regulatory compliance. It therefore provides a concrete pathway to accelerate the competitiveness of regional renewable hydrogen across its value chain.