Experimental Evaluation of a Prototype for the Micro Production of Green Hydrogen

The main objective of this chapter was to experimentally evaluate a green hydrogen production prototype. The experimental model consisted of three modules: the hydrogen generation module, the photovoltaic panel module, and the data acquisition module. In each case, measurements of electrical parameters were carried out with regard to intensity and voltage as well as hydrogen production. In order to determine the performance of the prototype, an experimental methodology was proposed where tests were carried out with different numbers of panels to determine the greatest amount of hydrogen production. To that effect, experiments were carried out with one panel, two panels, three panels, and four panels on different days. In addition, tests were carried out through the electrical network with different amperages that were supplied by the charge controller (15 A, 20 A, 25 A, 30 A, 35 A, and 40 A). Once all the tests mentioned above were carried out, the efficiency of the prototype was evaluated, resulting in an efficiency of 18.27% that was obtained with a production of 7.47 g for 4 h with an energy consumption of 152.32 kW. The costs incurred in each of the test scenarios for hydrogen production were as follows: Through the electrical network there was a production of 8.54 g with a cost of 0.9 USD in 4 h of operation. Using the 60 V DC combustion generator resulted in a production of 9.09 g at a cost of USD 30.