Electrolyser and energy system
First Claim
1. A process comprising the steps of,a) providing an electrolyser, wherein the electrolyser comprises a plurality of discrete stack assemblies;
- b) receiving a series of dispatches, each of the dispatches indicating a specified power consumption to be consumed over a specific period of time, the dispatches occurring at least once every 30 minutes;
c) operating a first subset of the discrete stack assemblies of the electrolyser at a variable rate of power consumption, and operating a second subset of the discrete stack assemblies of the electrolyser each at a continuous rate of power consumption, wherein the continuous rate of power consumption is full power or such that a minimum number of discrete stack assemblies provides the minimum specified power consumption expected over a plurality of dispatches, wherein the electrolyser consumes the specified power consumption over the period of time according to the dispatches; and
,d) discharging hydrogen produced during step c) to a natural gas system.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electrolyzer operates within an energy system, for example to provide grid services, energy storage or fuel, or to produce hydrogen from electricity produced from renewable resources. The electrolyzer may be configured to operate at frequently or quickly varying rates of electricity consumption or to operate at a specified power consumption. In one process of operating an electrolyzer, a series of dispatches is received indicating a specified power consumption for a period of time. The dispatches may occur at least once every 30 minutes. The electrolyzer is operated according to the dispatches. Hydrogen produced by the electrolyzer is discharged to a natural gas system.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A process comprising the steps of,
a) providing an electrolyser, wherein the electrolyser comprises a plurality of discrete stack assemblies; -
b) receiving a series of dispatches, each of the dispatches indicating a specified power consumption to be consumed over a specific period of time, the dispatches occurring at least once every 30 minutes; c) operating a first subset of the discrete stack assemblies of the electrolyser at a variable rate of power consumption, and operating a second subset of the discrete stack assemblies of the electrolyser each at a continuous rate of power consumption, wherein the continuous rate of power consumption is full power or such that a minimum number of discrete stack assemblies provides the minimum specified power consumption expected over a plurality of dispatches, wherein the electrolyser consumes the specified power consumption over the period of time according to the dispatches; and
,d) discharging hydrogen produced during step c) to a natural gas system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15)
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12. An electrolyser comprising,
multiple stack assemblies; -
shared gas separators above the multiple stack assemblies; vents from each of the multiple stack assemblies to the shared gas separators; a separate DC power supply for each of the multiple stack assemblies; a controller connected to each of the separate DC power supplies; and
,an electricity meter, wherein the controller is adapted to operate the DC power supplies so as to consume electricity at a pre-determined rate. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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Specification