Energy supply system

Abstract

To provide an energy supply system that makes it possible to cover an energy demand in an energy station as much as possible by suppressing a power purchase amount from an electric power company.SOLUTION: An energy supply system comprises: a storage battery capable of transmitting and receiving power to / from an external device; a hydrogen storage device capable of transmitting and receiving hydrogen to / from the external device; a hydrogen generator that generates hydrogen using power stored in the storage battery and supplies the hydrogen to the hydrogen storage device; a power generator that generates power using hydrogen stored in the hydrogen storage device and supplies the power to the storage battery; and a controller that on the basis of prediction of at least any of a power demand and hydrogen demand for the external device and calculation for minimizing a power purchase amount, controls a generation amount of hydrogen by the hydrogen generator and a generation amount of power by the power generator.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an energy supply system. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventional gas stations store gasoline transported in tank trucks and supply it to gasoline-powered vehicles, but with the recent spread of electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles, there has been a demand for energy stations that also supply electricity and hydrogen.Technology is becoming known in which energy stations that can supply electricity and hydrogen to such consumers are equipped with a hydrogen generator that generates hydrogen using electricity and a power generator that generates electricity using hydrogen (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-133939 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In conventional technology, there was a problem that as the amount of stored electricity decreased, the amount of electricity purchased from the power company increased, which increased the energy station's operating costs.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and provides an energy supply system that can reduce the amount of electricity purchased from the electric power company and meet as much of the energy demand as possible within the energy station. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the energy supply system comprises a storage battery capable of supplying and receiving electricity to and from an external device, a hydrogen storage device capable of supplying and receiving hydrogen to and from the external device, a hydrogen generation device that generates hydrogen using the electricity stored in the storage battery and supplies it to the hydrogen storage device, a power generation device that generates electricity using the hydrogen stored in the hydrogen storage device and supplies it to the storage battery, and a control device that controls the amount of hydrogen generated by the hydrogen generation device and the amount of electricity generated by the power generation device based on a prediction of at least one of the electricity demand and hydrogen demand for the external device and a calculation to minimize the amount of electricity purchased. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The present invention can provide an energy supply system that can reduce the amount of electricity purchased from the power company and meet as much of the energy demand as possible within the energy station. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the entire energy station that employs an energy system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an energy system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention, but the invention according to the claims is not limited to the following embodiments. Furthermore, not all of the configurations described in the embodiments are necessarily essential as means for solving the problems.

[0010] 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the entire energy station 500 that employs the energy supply system 100 according to this embodiment. The energy station 500 faces a road 510, and vehicles 400 traveling on the road 510 can enter and exit the site of the energy station 500.

[0011] The energy supply system 100 includes, as main structures installed on the premises of the energy station 500, a storage battery 110, a hydrogen storage device 120, a hydrogen generation device 130, a power generation device 140, a power distribution device 150, and a hydrogen distribution device 160. The energy supply system 100 is linked to related structures such as a solar power generation device 210, a wind power generation device 220, and a power supply grid 310.

[0012] The storage battery 110 is a device that receives and stores power from an external device and supplies the stored power to the external device, and a lithium-ion battery, for example, can be used as the power storage module. The storage battery 110 can receive and store power generated by, for example, a solar power generation device 210 or a wind power generation device 220 as renewable energy power generation equipment installed by the operator of the energy supply system 100. The power received from the renewable energy power generation equipment is internal consumption for the operator, and it is desirable to utilize this power in the operation of the energy station 500. The storage battery 110 can also receive and store power supplied from the power supply network 310 of a power company. The power received from the power supply network 310 is so-called purchased power, and is an expense in the operation of the energy station 500, so it is desirable to reduce this proportion. The renewable energy power generation equipment and the power supply network 310 are examples of external devices that supply power to the storage battery 110.

[0013] The storage battery 110 supplies the stored electric power to a vehicle 400 powered at least in part by electric power via the power distribution device 150. The vehicle 400 powered at least in part by electric power is, for example, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) or a battery electric vehicle (BEV) (hereinafter referred to as an "electric vehicle"). The power distribution device 150 charges a storage battery mounted on the vehicle 400 by inserting, for example, a charge plug 151 into the vehicle 400. Such a vehicle 400 is an example of an external device to which electric power is supplied from the storage battery 110.

[0014] The storage battery 110 may also receive power from the vehicle 400, which is an electric vehicle, via the power distribution device 150. Recently, electric vehicles are increasingly being charged with power generated by renewable energy power generation facilities installed in the owners' homes, and the energy station 500 can purchase this surplus power. In this embodiment, the purchase price from the electric vehicle is assumed to be lower than the price of power from the power supply grid 310.

[0015] The hydrogen storage device 120 is a device that takes in hydrogen from an external device, stores it, and supplies the stored hydrogen to an external device. In addition to a tank for storing hydrogen, it includes a compressor that compresses the hydrogen to a high pressure, a cooler that cools it, and the like. The hydrogen storage device 120 can receive a supply of hydrogen from, for example, a hydrogen transport vehicle 320. The supply of hydrogen from the hydrogen transport vehicle 320 is covered by purchasing, and since this is an expense in the operation of the energy station 500, it is desirable to reduce this proportion. The hydrogen transport vehicle 320 is an example of an external device that supplies hydrogen to the hydrogen storage device 120.

[0016] The hydrogen storage device 120 supplies stored hydrogen to a vehicle 400 powered by hydrogen via a hydrogen distribution device 160. The vehicle 400 powered by hydrogen is, for example, a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) or a hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicle (HICEV) (hereinafter referred to as a "hydrogen vehicle"). The hydrogen distribution device 160 supplies hydrogen to a tank mounted on the vehicle 400, for example, by inserting a dispenser 161 into the vehicle 400. Such a vehicle 400 is an example of an external device that supplies hydrogen from the hydrogen storage device 120.

[0017] The hydrogen generation device 130 generates hydrogen using the power stored in the storage battery 110 and supplies the hydrogen to the hydrogen storage device 120. The hydrogen generation device 130 is an on-site device that generates hydrogen from water by, for example, performing ion exchange using an electrode assembly membrane sandwiched between an anode current collector and a cathode current collector. The power required for this is supplied from the storage battery 110. The generated hydrogen is stored in the hydrogen storage device 120. The hydrogen storage device 120 and the hydrogen generation device 130 may be configured as an integrated whole.

[0018] The power generation device 140 generates electricity using hydrogen stored in the hydrogen storage device 120 and supplies it to the storage battery 110. The power generation device 140 is an on-site device that generates electricity from hydrogen and air using, for example, a fuel cell. The hydrogen required for this is supplied from the hydrogen storage device 120. The generated electricity is stored in the storage battery 110. Note that the storage battery 110 and the power generation device 140 may be configured as an integrated whole.

[0019] Fig. 2 is a system configuration diagram of the energy supply system 100. In the configuration of the energy station 500 described using Fig. 1, the energy supply system 100 aims to minimize the purchase of electricity from the power supply network 310, which increases operating costs. To that end, the energy supply system 100 includes a control device 170 that controls the amount of hydrogen generated by the hydrogen generation device 130 and the amount of electricity generated by the power generation device 140, based on predictions of at least one of the electricity demand and hydrogen demand for external devices and calculations that minimize the amount of electricity purchased.

[0020] In Fig. 2, the flow of power between each piece of equipment, indicated by thick solid lines, and the flow of hydrogen between each piece of equipment, indicated by thick dotted lines, are as described in Fig. 1. The energy supply system 100 includes a control device 170 that issues control signals to the hydrogen generation device 130 and the power generation device 140, and a storage unit 180 that stores demand forecast data 181 referenced by the control device 170. The demand forecast data 181 is transmitted to the storage unit 180, for example, from a server 910 that calculates the demand forecast via the Internet network 900.

[0021] Regarding electricity, the server 910 uses, for example, weather forecasts to predict the hourly power generation amount of self-supplied power generation devices such as the solar power generation device 210 and the wind power generation device 220. Furthermore, based on the weather forecasts and past statistical values, the server 910 predicts the hourly amount of power to be purchased from electric vehicles. Furthermore, based on past statistical values ​​associated with information on the day of the week, such as weekdays and holidays, the server 910 predicts the hourly amount of power to be supplied to electric vehicles. Regarding hydrogen, the server 910 also checks how much hydrogen will be supplied from the hydrogen tanker 320 and during what time period. The server 910 aggregates this information as demand forecast data 181 and transfers it to the storage unit 180.

[0022] The control device 170 refers to such demand forecast data 181 to calculate a forecast of the remaining power in the storage battery 110 and the remaining hydrogen in the hydrogen storage device 120 when the hydrogen generation device 130 and the power generation device 140 are not operated. If it determines that there is a time period during which the remaining power in the storage battery 110 will fall below a preset threshold, it plans to restore the remaining power in the storage battery 110 by using hydrogen stored in the hydrogen storage device 120 to drive the power generation device 140 to generate power before that time period. At this time, if there is insufficient hydrogen stored in the hydrogen storage device 120 or the power generation capacity of the power generation device 140 is not enough to cover the power shortage, it plans to purchase power from the power supply network. That is, the control device 170 controls the amount of power generated by the power generation device 140 to meet the forecast demand for electric vehicles and minimizes the amount of power purchased from the power supply network.

[0023] Furthermore, when the control device 170 determines that there is a time period in which the remaining hydrogen in the hydrogen storage device 120 will fall below a preset threshold, it makes a plan to use the power stored in the storage battery 110 to drive the hydrogen generation device 130 to generate hydrogen before that time period, thereby restoring the remaining hydrogen in the hydrogen storage device 120. At this time, if the power stored in the storage battery 110 is insufficient, it makes a plan to purchase power from the power supply network. In other words, the control device 170 controls the amount of hydrogen generated by the hydrogen generation device 130 so as to meet the predicted demand for hydrogen vehicles, thereby minimizing the amount of power purchased from the power supply network.

[0024] The control device 170 can also reduce the purchase of hydrogen from the hydrogen supply network by adjusting the amount of hydrogen generated by the hydrogen generation device 130. When such adjustments are also made, the control device 170 is not limited to controlling the acquisition of power from the power supply network to the storage battery 110, but may also issue ordering instructions to the hydrogen supply network regarding the amount of hydrogen to be purchased and the time slot for receiving the hydrogen.

[0025] As described above, the control device 170 controls the amount of hydrogen generated by the hydrogen generation device 130 and the amount of electricity generated by the power generation device 140 based on predictions of at least one of the electricity demand and the hydrogen demand and calculations to minimize the amount of electricity purchased. Through such operation of the control device 170, the energy supply system 100 can reduce the amount of electricity purchased by the energy station 500 from the power supply grid. In the above-described embodiment, a self-sufficient power generation device that supplies power to the energy station 500 is installed. However, even if such a device is not installed, the control device 170 can control the hydrogen generation device 130 and the power generation device 140 to reduce the amount of electricity purchased from the power supply grid. The hydrogen storage device 120 may also be configured to acquire surplus hydrogen from a hydrogen-powered vehicle. In this case, the demand forecast data preferably includes data predicting the amount of hydrogen to be supplied during a certain time period, and the control device 170 may control the hydrogen generation device 130 and the power generation device 140 based on such data. [Explanation of symbols]

[0026] 100...energy supply system, 110...storage battery, 120...hydrogen storage device, 130...hydrogen generation device, 140...power generation device, 150...power distribution device, 151...charging plug, 160...hydrogen distribution device, 161...dispenser, 170...control device, 180...memory unit, 181...demand forecast data, 210...solar power generation device, 220...wind power generation device, 310...power supply network, 320...hydrogen transport vehicle, 400...vehicle, 500...energy station, 510...road, 900...internet network, 910...server

Claims

[Claim 1] a storage battery capable of exchanging power with an external device; a hydrogen storage device capable of exchanging hydrogen with an external device; a hydrogen generating device that generates hydrogen using the electric power stored in the storage battery and supplies the hydrogen to the hydrogen storage device; an electric power generating device that generates electric power using the hydrogen stored in the hydrogen storage device and supplies the electric power to the storage battery; a control device that controls the amount of hydrogen generated by the hydrogen generation device and the amount of electricity generated by the power generation device based on prediction of at least one of electricity demand and hydrogen demand for an external device and calculation to minimize the amount of electricity purchased; An energy supply system comprising:

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