SHINE Project: Electrolyzer Research Agenda

Abstract

SHINE is a joint Uruguay–Germany research project (UdelaR, UTEC, Argentine partners and TUM) that studies PEM electrolysis in the techno-economic context of energy systems with high renewable penetration. It targets a gap in the literature: most electrolyzer research works at a single scale and does not connect the scales in an experimentally validated framework. Its central question is which lab-validated PEM electrolyzer characteristics are decisive for hydrogen planning at the scale of Uruguay's energy system. The work is organized into four work packages along two streams, one experimental and one for planning, that inform each other. WP1 studies cell-level aging and degradation to obtain reliable degradation factors and parameter ranges. WP2 characterizes the full stack on TUM's 10 kW PEM test stand, measuring part-load efficiency and the response to pressure and temperature. WP3 combines these results in a digital twin that runs as a real-time emulator, connected to the grid through Power Hardware-in-the-Loop at TUM's H2-Lab and the CoSES laboratory, so control strategies can be validated without putting real hardware at risk. WP4 uses urbs and SimSEE to model Uruguay's renewable scenarios, its hydrogen export potential and the impact on the domestic energy system. The main contribution is a validated electrolyzer model that works in both directions: it turns degradation evidence and stack dynamics into inputs for planning, and it turns system scenarios into laboratory tests, which makes it a replicable framework for other countries that want to integrate green hydrogen.