Deployment and system impact of hydrogen electrolysis

Characterize the deployment, integration, and system impact of hydrogen electrolysis as an energy-storage technology providing seasonal storage and balancing services in the Nordic power system.

Background

The paper examines least-cost expansion of the Nordic power system using PyPSA-Eur and compares the resulting pathway with the Nordic Grid Development Perspective 2025. Hydrogen electrolysis is represented as both an electricity-consuming technology and a potential flexibility and seasonal-storage option.

The authors identify a substantial difference between the two scenarios: the NGDP anticipates hydrogen demand from 2030 onward, whereas the least-cost PyPSA-Eur pathway delays substantial deployment until 2045–2050. They therefore identify the practical deployment, integration, and system consequences of hydrogen storage as unresolved issues in the Nordic transition.

References

Moreover, energy storage technologies, such as hydrogen electrolysis, are expected to play a significant role in providing seasonal storage and balancing services, but their deployment, integration, and impact into the system remain to be uncovered.

— Modelling the Nordic power system expansion with PyPSA-Eur: a comparison with the Nordic Grid Development Perspective 2025  (2610.13167 - Gorjão et al., 9 Oct 2026) in Section 1, Introduction