Hydrogen trading support device, hydrogen trading support method, and hydrogen trading support system

Abstract

In the present invention, a hydrogen user is preferably able to flexibly procure hydrogen of a type, purity, and necessary amount in accordance with an industrial usage, and it is also preferable for a hydrogen aggregator to respond to such demands of a user. A hydrogen transaction assistance device 100 comprises: a hydrogen demand amount calculating unit 101 that calculates hydrogen demands related to quality and amount; a greenhouse gas discharge coefficient calculating unit 102 that calculates an index value of a greenhouse gas discharge amount produced by the manufacture and transportation of hydrogen of a predetermined quality and a predetermined amount; and a hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 that executes a hydrogen supply instruction process for identifying a business for manufacturing and transporting the hydrogen corresponding to the hydrogen demands and identifying conditions of the manufacturing or transporting of said hydrogen, on the basis of the hydrogen demands calculated by the hydrogen demand calculating unit 101 and the index value of the greenhouse gas discharge amount calculated by the greenhouse gas discharge coefficient calculating unit 102, and for instructing the business to manufacture and transport the hydrogen in accordance with the identified conditions.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a hydrogen trading support device, a hydrogen trading support method, and a hydrogen trading support system. [Background technology]

[0002] Increasing efforts are being made to achieve carbon neutrality, which means reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero overall in corporate activities. In this regard, hydrogen is attracting attention as an energy source that can generate energy with almost no greenhouse gas emissions. The existence of aggregators, who act as intermediaries to facilitate transactions between hydrogen suppliers and consumers, is attracting attention.

[0003] As a technical means for supporting hydrogen trading, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method in which hydrogen is generated from various types of energy using a hydrogen generation device, stored in a hydrogen cartridge, and when trading the hydrogen stored in the hydrogen cartridge, a computer device is connected to the hydrogen cartridge, various types of information stored in the hydrogen cartridge is read and sent to a host device, and the host device searches various databases, etc., to determine a trading partner, and hydrogen is traded (provided / received) with this trading partner. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-58605 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] There are various types of hydrogen that can be used as an energy source, including green hydrogen, gray hydrogen, and blue hydrogen. From the perspective of reducing environmental impact and product quality, it is preferable for hydrogen users to use hydrogen of the highest possible quality, but purchasing high-quality hydrogen incurs a considerable cost. Hydrogen users desire the ability to flexibly procure hydrogen in the type, purity, and quantity required for their business purposes, and it is also desirable for hydrogen aggregators to meet the demands of such users. However, the current situation is that the technology to fully realize this has not yet been fully developed.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of this current situation, and its purpose is to provide a hydrogen trading support device, a hydrogen trading support method, and a hydrogen trading support system that are capable of supporting hydrogen trading in accordance with the demands of hydrogen users and taking into consideration the environmental impact. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A representative example of the invention disclosed in the present application is as follows: That is, the hydrogen demand calculation unit has a processor and a memory, and calculates hydrogen demand related to purity and quantity, a greenhouse gas emission coefficient calculation unit calculates an index value of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the production and transportation of hydrogen of a predetermined purity and a predetermined quantity, and a hydrogen supply instruction unit that identifies a business that produces and transports hydrogen to meet the hydrogen demand and the conditions for producing the hydrogen based on the hydrogen demand calculated by the hydrogen demand calculation unit and the index value of greenhouse gas emissions calculated by the greenhouse gas emission coefficient calculation unit, and executes hydrogen supply instruction processing to instruct the business to produce and transport hydrogen under the identified conditions, the plurality of businesses that produce and transport hydrogen and the production amounts of the hydrogen are identified, and instructions are given to the plurality of businesses to produce and transport hydrogen in the identified production amounts. This is a hydrogen trading support device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to support hydrogen trading that meets the demands of hydrogen users and takes into consideration the environmental load. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a hydrogen trading support system according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of functions provided in the energy producer system, the energy distributor system, the energy consumer system, and the hydrogen trading support device. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hydrogen information management DB. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of each information processing device. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the hydrogen trading support process. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an administrator screen displayed by the screen display unit. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the remaining amount prediction process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a hydrogen trading support system 1 according to this embodiment. The hydrogen trading support system 1 includes a hydrogen trading support device 100 managed by a predetermined administrator (user), an energy supply system 200 managed by each business that supplies hydrogen, and one or more energy consumer systems 300 managed by businesses (consumers) that use hydrogen.

[0011] The energy supplying system 200 includes one or more energy producer systems 400 and one or more energy distributor systems 500 .

[0012] The energy producer system 400 is an information processing system managed by businesses (manufacturers) that produce hydrogen. Each producer produces hydrogen of a specified quality. The energy producer system 400 is installed, for example, in the producer's factory or business premises. The hydrogen produced by the energy producer system 400 is provided to the energy delivery system 500. The energy producer system 400 transmits information about available hydrogen (manufacturer information) to the hydrogen trading support device 100 (details will be described later).

[0013] The energy distributor system 500 is an information processing system managed by a business operator (distributor) that transports or distributes hydrogen to consumers. The energy distributor system 500 is installed, for example, at the distributor's business premises or distribution facility. The energy distributor system 500 transmits information such as the amount of hydrogen currently held (distributor remaining amount information) to the hydrogen trading support device 100 (details will be described later). The energy distributor system 500 (or the energy consumer system 300) transmits information such as the demand for hydrogen required by the consumer (demand information) to the hydrogen trading support device 100 (details will be described later). The hydrogen demand information includes information regarding the quality (purity, etc.) and quantity of hydrogen required by the consumer. Each distributor can distribute hydrogen of the quality required by the consumer to the consumer by mixing hydrogen of different qualities produced by multiple producers. The hydrogen producer and distributor may be the same business operator.

[0014] Next, the energy consumer system 300 is an information processing system managed by a consumer. Consumers are those who convert hydrogen into energy and conduct various businesses, such as businesses that manufacture fuel cells, businesses that generate hydrogen power, and businesses that use energy obtained using hydrogen boilers, hydrogen gas turbines, or hydrogen-mixed diesel engines. The energy consumer system 300 is installed, for example, at a consumer's business premises.

[0015] Each consumer requires hydrogen of a quality and quantity appropriate to the nature of their business. For example, high-quality hydrogen is required when manufacturing fuel cells, but hydrogen of lower quality than that used for fuel cell manufacturing is acceptable when using a hydrogen boiler, hydrogen gas turbine, or hydrogen-mixed-fuel diesel engine. In this embodiment, hydrogen quality refers to the purity of hydrogen, but the quality of hydrogen may also be determined by other physical properties.

[0016] The hydrogen trading support device 100 is an information processing device managed by a business operator (e.g., an aggregator) that mediates hydrogen trading between producers and consumers. The hydrogen trading support device 100 supports trading of hydrogen in a quantity and quality that meets consumer demand, while taking into consideration the balance between hydrogen supply and demand between producers and consumers and the environmental burden caused by hydrogen production and transportation. The hydrogen trading support device 100 is installed, for example, at the aggregator's business premises or a specified data center. The hydrogen trading support device 100 transmits information (supply instructions) such as hydrogen supply instructions to the energy producer system 400 (details will be described later).

[0017] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of functions provided in the energy producer system 400, the energy distributor system 500, the energy consumer system 300, and the hydrogen trading supporting device 100.

[0018] (Energy Producer System) First, the energy producer system 400 includes a hydrogen production facility 410 (e.g., a water electrolysis device, a steam reforming device) that produces hydrogen of various qualities and quantities, a sensor 420 (e.g., a weight sensor, a component analysis device) that acquires various parameter values ​​related to the quantity and quality of the hydrogen produced by the hydrogen production facility 410, a producer device 430, and a delivery facility 440.

[0019] The manufacturer device 430 is an information processing device having the following functional units (programs): a data collection unit 431, a data transmission unit 432, a data reception unit 433, and an equipment instruction transmission unit 434.

[0020] The data collection unit 431 acquires parameter values ​​from the sensor 420, and generates information on the quantity and quality of hydrogen that can be provided to consumers (hereinafter referred to as manufacturer information) based on the acquired parameter values.

[0021] The data transmission unit 432 transmits the information generated by the data collection unit 431 to the hydrogen trading support device 100 at a predetermined timing (for example, at a predetermined time interval, at a predetermined time, or when requested by the hydrogen trading support device 100).

[0022] The data receiving unit 433 receives a hydrogen supply instruction from the hydrogen trading supporting apparatus 100 .

[0023] The equipment instruction sending unit 434 sends predetermined instruction information to the delivery equipment 440 based on the supply instruction received by the data receiving unit 433. The delivery equipment 440 provides hydrogen to the deliverer based on the received instruction information. The delivery equipment 440 is not particularly limited as long as it is a means capable of supplying hydrogen from a manufacturer (such as the hydrogen production equipment 410) to a deliverer (such as the hydrogen storage equipment 510 described below), and may be, for example, a vehicle or a transport pipe.

[0024] (Energy Delivery System) Next, the energy delivery system 500 is composed of a hydrogen storage facility 510 (tank, etc.) for storing hydrogen, a sensor 520 (e.g., a weight sensor, a component analysis device) for acquiring various parameter values ​​related to the quality and quantity of hydrogen stored in the hydrogen storage facility 510, a delivery facility 530, and an individual delivery facility 540.

[0025] The deliverer device 530 is an information processing device having the following functional units (programs): a data collection unit 531, a data transmission unit 532, a data reception unit 533, and an equipment instruction transmission unit 534.

[0026] The data collection unit 531 acquires parameter values ​​from the sensor 520 and, based on the acquired parameter values, generates information on the quantity and quality of hydrogen currently held by the hydrogen storage facility 510 and available to consumers (hereinafter referred to as deliverer remaining quantity information).

[0027] The data transmission unit 532 transmits the deliverer remaining amount information generated by the data collection unit 531 to the hydrogen trading support apparatus 100 at a predetermined timing (for example, at a predetermined time interval, at a predetermined time, or when requested by the hydrogen trading support apparatus 100). The data transmission unit 532 also transmits information on the purity and amount of hydrogen required by the consumer (hereinafter referred to as demand information) to the hydrogen trading support apparatus 100 at a predetermined timing. The data transmission unit 532 also transmits information on the amount and quality of hydrogen delivered to the consumer (hereinafter referred to as delivery information) to the hydrogen trading support apparatus 100 at a predetermined timing. The data transmission unit 532 also transmits information on the amount and quality of hydrogen held by the consumer (hereinafter referred to as consumer remaining amount information) to the hydrogen trading support apparatus 100 at a predetermined timing.

[0028] The data receiving unit 533 receives a delivery instruction from the hydrogen trading supporting apparatus 100 .

[0029] The equipment instruction sending unit 534 sends predetermined instruction information to the individual delivery equipment 540 based on the delivery instruction received by the data receiving unit 533. The individual delivery equipment 540 delivers hydrogen to the consumer based on the received instruction information. The individual delivery equipment 540 is not particularly limited as long as it is a means capable of delivering hydrogen from the deliverer (hydrogen storage equipment 510) to the consumer (hydrogen utilization equipment 310 described later), and may be, for example, a vehicle or a transport pipe.

[0030] (Energy consumer system) Next, the energy consumer system 300 is configured to include hydrogen utilization equipment 310 that utilizes hydrogen of various qualities and quantities, a sensor 320 (weight sensor, component analyzer, etc.) that acquires parameter values ​​related to the remaining amount and quality of hydrogen in the hydrogen utilization equipment 310, and a consumer device 330. The hydrogen utilization equipment 310 is, for example, a fuel cell manufacturing facility, a generator that generates hydrogen electricity such as hydrogen co-firing power generation, a gas engine, a hydrogen boiler, a hydrogen gas turbine, or a hydrogen co-firing diesel engine.

[0031] The demander device 330 is an information processing device having functional units (programs) of a data collection unit 331 and a data transmission unit 332.

[0032] The data collection unit 331 acquires parameter values ​​from the sensor 320 and generates information (consumer remaining amount information) on the quantity and quality of hydrogen currently held by the hydrogen utilization facility 310 based on the acquired parameter values. The data transmission unit 332 transmits the consumer remaining amount information generated by the data collection unit 331 to the deliverer device 530 (or the hydrogen trading support device 100) at a predetermined timing (for example, at a predetermined time interval, at a predetermined time, or when requested by the hydrogen trading support device 100). In addition, the data transmission unit 333 transmits information (demand information) on the purity and quantity of hydrogen required by the consumer to the deliverer device 530 at a predetermined timing.

[0033] (Hydrogen trading support device) Next, the hydrogen trading support device 100 is an information processing device that includes functional units (programs) of a hydrogen demand calculation unit 101, a greenhouse gas emission coefficient calculation unit 102, a cost coefficient calculation unit 103, a hydrogen supply instruction unit 104, and a screen display unit 105.

[0034] The hydrogen demand calculation unit 101 calculates the demand for hydrogen from the consumer in terms of quality and quantity at a predetermined timing.

[0035] The greenhouse gas emission coefficient calculation unit 102 calculates an index value for the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the production and transportation of hydrogen of a predetermined quality and in a predetermined amount. In this embodiment, this index value is a CO2 emission coefficient (a numerical value indicating how much CO2 is emitted per kWh of electricity supplied), but other index values ​​may also be used (CO2: carbon dioxide). The calculated CO2 emission coefficient is recorded in the hydrogen information management DB 110, which will be described later.

[0036] The cost coefficient calculation unit 103 calculates an index value of the cost incurred in producing and transporting hydrogen of a predetermined quality and amount. In this embodiment, this cost index value is the unit price of hydrogen (price per unit supply amount), but other values ​​may be used. The calculated cost index value is recorded in the hydrogen information management DB 110, which will be described later.

[0037] Based on the demand for hydrogen (quality and quantity) calculated by the hydrogen demand calculation unit 101 and the greenhouse gas emission index value (CO2 emission coefficient) calculated by the greenhouse gas emission coefficient calculation unit 102, the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 identifies the business operator that will produce and transport hydrogen to meet the hydrogen demand and the conditions for the business operator's production or transportation of hydrogen, and executes a hydrogen supply instruction process to instruct the business operator to produce and transport hydrogen under the identified conditions. In this embodiment, the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 uses, as an example, the simplex method described below to identify the conditions for production or transportation by the manufacturer and distributor when the greenhouse gas (CO2) emissions are set to a predetermined amount (the amount shown in the hydrogen information management DB 110 described below), and transmits information (supply instructions) to the energy producer system 400 or the energy distributor system 500 instructing them to produce and transport hydrogen under the identified conditions.

[0038] When hydrogen produced by multiple producers is mixed, the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 specifies the production or transportation conditions of each producer that produces and transports hydrogen corresponding to the above-mentioned hydrogen demand (quality and quantity), and transmits a supply instruction to the energy producer system 400 associated with each producer or the energy deliverer system 500 associated with each deliverer to instruct the production and transportation of hydrogen under the specified conditions. Note that the supply instruction in this invention is not limited to instructing a producer (business operator) to produce and transport hydrogen under specified conditions, but also includes the concept of proposing hydrogen production and transportation under specified conditions and executing hydrogen trading only after the producer accepts the proposal.

[0039] Furthermore, the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 has a function of transmitting a supply instruction to the energy producer system 400 or the energy delivery system 500 associated with each delivery person based on a cost index value instead of a CO2 emission coefficient. That is, when hydrogen produced by multiple producers is mixed, the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 specifies the conditions for production or transportation by each producer that produces and transports hydrogen corresponding to the above-mentioned hydrogen demand (quality and quantity), and transmits a supply instruction to the energy producer system 400 associated with each producer or the energy delivery system 500 associated with each delivery person to instruct the production and transportation of hydrogen under the specified conditions.

[0040] The hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 predicts whether the delivery company will have sufficient hydrogen to provide to hydrogen consumers at a specified time in the future based on the amount of hydrogen that the delivery company and consumer currently have or have had in the past, and executes the hydrogen supply instruction process if it determines that the delivery company does not have sufficient hydrogen.

[0041] Next, the screen display unit 105 (output unit) displays information on the amount of hydrogen that the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 has calculated and that the delivery company or the consumer will possess at a predetermined time in the future.

[0042] (Hydrogen Information Management DB) 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hydrogen information management DB 110. The hydrogen information management DB 110 stores information including manufacturer information. The hydrogen information management DB 110 is composed of one or more records each having the following data items: process 111, input conditions 112, pressure 113, hydrogen purity 114, quantity 115, CO2 emissions 116, and unit price 117. A hydrogen information management DB 110 is provided for each manufacturer.

[0043] In the process 111, information specifying the process from hydrogen production to transportation to the consumer (for example, production, purification, transportation, filling) is set. In the input conditions 112, information indicating the specific contents or conditions of the process (for example, hydrogen production method, purification method, transportation method, transportation distance, filling method) is set. In the pressure 112, information on the pressure of hydrogen in that process is set. In the hydrogen purity 114, information on the purity of hydrogen in that process is set. In the quantity 115, information specifying the amount of hydrogen in that process is set. In the CO2 emissions 116, a CO2 emission coefficient for that process is set. In the unit price 117, information on the unit price (cost) for that process is set.

[0044] Furthermore, information summarizing the entire process from the manufacturer through the distributor to the consumer is set for each variation of distributor and consumer in a predetermined record 119 of the hydrogen information management DB 110. Specifically, the hydrogen purity 120 for the entire process, the hydrogen purity 120 for the entire process, the total CO2 emission coefficient 121 for the entire process (total value of the CO2 emission coefficients, etc.), and the total unit price 122 for the entire process (total unit price) are set.

[0045] The data for the CO2 emission coefficient total 121 and the unit price total 122 may be input by an administrator, or may be calculated automatically by the hydrogen trading support device 100 based on the values ​​or contents of each record using a predetermined calculation algorithm.

[0046] The information processing devices in the hydrogen trading support system described above are connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other via a wired or wireless communication network such as the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), or a dedicated line.

[0047] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of each information processing device. Each information processing device includes a processing device 91 (processor) such as a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or a field-programmable gate array (FPGA); a main storage device 92 (memory) such as a read-only memory (ROM) or a random access memory (RAM); an auxiliary storage device 93 such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD); and a communication device 94 that is a communication interface compatible with one or more communication standards (e.g., IEEE802.3). Each information processing device may also include an input device 95 such as a mouse or keyboard, or an output device 96 such as a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescence (EL) display.

[0048] Each function of each information processing device is realized by the processing device 91 reading and executing a program stored in the main storage device 92 or the auxiliary storage device 93. This program can also be recorded on a recording medium and distributed, for example. Each information processing device may be realized by a field programmable gate array (FPGA), which is a rewritable logic circuit, or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), which is an application specific integrated circuit, instead of the combination of the processing device 91 and the main storage device 92. Each information processing device may also be realized by a combination of different configurations, for example, a combination of a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and an FPGA, instead of the combination of the processing device 91 and the main storage device 92. Next, the processing performed by the incident management server 300 will be described in detail.

[0049] <Hydrogen trading support processing> 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the hydrogen trading support process. The hydrogen trading support process is executed, for example, when a predetermined input is received from an administrator, or at a predetermined timing (for example, at a predetermined time interval or a predetermined time). In this embodiment, the hydrogen trading support process is considered to be started when the hydrogen trading support device 100 receives information about a consumer requesting hydrogen (hereinafter referred to as a target consumer) from the energy distributor system 500 or the energy consumer system 300.

[0050] The hydrogen trading support apparatus 100 selects one of the deliverers (s11). For example, the hydrogen trading support apparatus 100 may receive input of the deliverer from an administrator, or may automatically select a deliverer.

[0051] The hydrogen demand amount calculation unit 101 acquires information on the remaining amount of hydrogen for each purity of the target consumer (consumer remaining amount information) (s13). For example, the hydrogen demand amount calculation unit 101 acquires consumer remaining amount information that has been received so far from the consumer device 330 of the energy consumer system 300. The hydrogen demand amount calculation unit 101 may also receive consumer remaining amount information from the distributor device 530 of the energy distributor system 500. The hydrogen demand amount calculation unit 101 does not have to perform the processing of s13.

[0052] The hydrogen demand calculation unit 101 executes a deliverer remaining amount prediction process s17 in which the remaining amount of hydrogen at a predetermined future timing of the deliverer selected in s11 (hereinafter referred to as the selected deliverer) is predicted for each purity of hydrogen, and a threshold value for each purity (hereinafter referred to as the judgment threshold value) for determining whether the remaining amount is sufficient is calculated. The details of the deliverer remaining amount prediction process s17 will be described later.

[0053] The hydrogen demand calculation unit 101 determines whether the remaining amount of hydrogen at the selected delivery service is sufficient for each purity of hydrogen based on the remaining amount of hydrogen predicted or calculated in s17 and the judgment threshold (s21). For example, for each purity of hydrogen, the hydrogen demand calculation unit 101 determines whether the remaining amount of hydrogen at the selected delivery service predicted in s17 is greater than the judgment threshold calculated in s17 (or a predetermined lower limit based thereon).

[0054] If the remaining amount of hydrogen at the selected delivery provider is sufficient for all purities (s21: YES), the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 executes the process of s23 described below. If the remaining amount of hydrogen at the selected delivery provider is insufficient for some purity (s21: NO), the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 executes the process from s25 onwards (hydrogen supply instruction process) described below.

[0055] In s23, the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 transmits a delivery instruction to the selected deliverer. Specifically, the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 transmits a delivery instruction to the target consumer to the deliverer device 530 of the energy deliverer system 500 associated with the selected deliverer. Upon receiving the delivery instruction, the deliverer device 530 displays a screen instructing delivery, or transmits instruction information instructing the individual delivery equipment 540 to deliver to the target consumer, thereby controlling the delivery of hydrogen by the individual delivery equipment 540 (for example, transmitting a vehicle operation control signal or a transport pipe valve control signal). Thereafter, the processing of s35, described below, is executed.

[0056] Meanwhile, in s25, the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 acquires information on constraints related to the demand of the target consumer. Specifically, the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 acquires the purity Y2 of hydrogen and the quantity Y1 of hydrogen requested by the target consumer from the most recent demand information of the target consumer transmitted by the deliverer device 530 of the energy deliverer system 500 related to the selected deliverer. The hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 may also receive demand information directly from the energy consumer system 300 related to the target consumer.

[0057] The hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 also acquires information on the hydrogen that each manufacturer can provide (s27). That is, the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 acquires information on the purity pi of hydrogen that each manufacturer i (i=1, 2, . . . n, where n is the total number of manufacturers) can provide, the cost ki associated with producing and transporting hydrogen of that purity, and the CO2 emission coefficient ci associated with producing and transporting hydrogen of that purity. For example, the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 acquires the contents of purity 120, total CO2 emission coefficient 121, and total unit price 122 from the record in the hydrogen trading management DB 110 associated with each manufacturer i.

[0058] Furthermore, the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 determines whether to issue a supply instruction to each manufacturer based on cost (cost mode) or based on a CO2 emission coefficient (CO2 mode) (s29). For example, the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 may specify a mode based on a preset parameter value, or may receive a mode selection input from an administrator.

[0059] Based on the mode determined in s29, the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 calculates the production and transportation conditions under the constraints (quantity and purity of hydrogen) regarding the demand of the target consumer obtained in s25, i.e., in this case, the production amount of hydrogen to be produced by each manufacturer and transported to the target consumer (s31).

[0060] In this embodiment, the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 calculates the amount of hydrogen produced by each producer based on the simplex method, for example. That is, the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 generates the following evaluation function f(Xi) for producer i and a constraint condition equation for the evaluation function f(Xi), thereby calculating Xi that minimizes the total value of the evaluation function f(Xi) (Xi: amount of hydrogen produced by producer i).

[0061] Evaluation Function f(Xi)=Min((X1*k1+...+Xn*kn) / Y1)

[0062] Constraint equation for hydrogen demand X1+···+Xn=Y1

[0063] Constraint equation for hydrogen mixing (X1*p1+···+Xn*pn) / Y1>=Y2

[0064] In the above evaluation function, ki is used when the evaluation mode is the cost mode. When the evaluation mode is the CO2 mode, it is replaced by ci.

[0065] Next, the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 instructs or proposes each producer to produce (or deliver to the selected delivery destination) the amount of hydrogen calculated in s31 (s33).

[0066] Specifically, the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 identifies all producers for which the production amount Xi of hydrogen produced in s31 was not zero, and transmits a supply instruction to the producer device 430 of the energy producer system 400 associated with each identified producer, instructing the producer device 430 to produce hydrogen at the production amount Xi. The producer device 430 displays the content of this supply instruction on its screen. Alternatively, the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 may transmit instruction information (supply instruction) to the deliverer device 530 of the energy deliverer system 500 associated with the selected deliverer, instructing the deliverer device 530 to deliver hydrogen to the target consumer when hydrogen is provided by the producer, and the deliverer device 530 may display the content of this instruction information on its screen. Note that if the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 determines in s31 that all the production amounts Xi of hydrogen are zero, it may display a predetermined warning.

[0067] When the producer device 430 receives a supply instruction, it may cause the hydrogen production facility 410 to produce hydrogen by transmitting instruction information to control the hydrogen production facility 410 to produce the amount of hydrogen indicated in the supply instruction (for example, by changing the hydrogen production rate). When the producer device 430 receives a supply instruction, it may cause the delivery facility 440 to provide hydrogen to the selected deliverer by transmitting instruction information to control the delivery facility 440 (for example, by transmitting a vehicle operation control signal or a transport pipe valve control signal). Furthermore, after receiving a delivery instruction, if hydrogen is provided by the producer, the deliverer device 530 may transmit instruction information (supply instruction) to the individual delivery facility 540 to deliver hydrogen to the target consumer (for example, by transmitting a vehicle operation control signal or a transport pipe valve control signal).

[0068] In s33, the screen display unit 105 may display information on the administrator screen regarding the hydrogen supply and demand balance between the manufacturer, the deliverer, and the consumer based on the hydrogen demand forecast calculated in the deliverer remaining amount forecast process s17.

[0069] The hydrogen trading support device 100 executes the above steps s13 to s33 for the other deliverers (s35), and the hydrogen trading support process is now complete.

[0070] In addition, when the hydrogen trading support device 100 performs the processes of s11 to s33 for all deliverers, it may calculate Xi so as to minimize the evaluation function f(Xi) for all deliverers and send supply instructions to each manufacturer.

[0071] Furthermore, in s17 and s21, the hydrogen demand calculation unit 101 may calculate the remaining amount of hydrogen for the selected deliverer at multiple future points in time (e.g., each day of the next week) and the corresponding determination threshold. In this case, the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 transmits supply instructions for those multiple points in time. This allows the producer to easily create a reasonable hydrogen production schedule for a certain period of time in the future.

[0072] (Administrator screen) 6 is a diagram showing an example of an administrator screen 600 displayed by the screen display unit 105. This administrator screen 600 includes a manufacturer information field 610, a deliverer information field 620, and a consumer information field 630. The administrator screen 600 displays information about a deliverer 640 and hydrogen purity 650 specified by the administrator when displaying the administrator screen 600. Note that in this embodiment, the screen display unit 105 is described as being included in the hydrogen trading support device 100, but this is not limited to this. For example, the screen display unit 105 may be located in a device other than the hydrogen trading support device 100. In this case, the hydrogen trading support device 100 only needs to have an output unit that outputs the screen display information, rather than the screen display unit 105.

[0073] The producer information column 610 displays information 611 about the current hydrogen production status of each producer. In the example shown in the figure, if a producer can produce hydrogen of each purity, "Available for supply" is displayed, and if it cannot, "Not available for supply" is displayed.

[0074] In the deliverer information column 620, the amount of hydrogen of the specified purity 650 held by the specified deliverer 640 is displayed, along with a history of the past remaining amount 621, a prediction of the future remaining amount 622, and a judgment threshold value 623.

[0075] In the consumer information column 630, a history 631 of the remaining amount of hydrogen and a forecast 632 of the remaining amount of hydrogen are displayed as the amount of hydrogen held by each consumer.

[0076] The administrator screen 600 also has a warning display field 660. The warning display field 660 displays information about the day when the remaining amount of hydrogen at the deliverer is predicted to fall below the judgment threshold. This day can be predicted by the hydrogen demand calculation unit 101 using a well-known prediction analysis method based on the remaining amount of hydrogen calculated in the deliverer remaining amount prediction process s17 and fluctuations in the predicted value. This information may be transmitted to the energy producer system 400 or the energy deliverer system 500.

[0077] <Delivery remaining amount prediction process> Next, FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the deliverer remaining amount prediction process s17. The hydrogen demand calculation unit 101 acquires input data required to predict the remaining amount of hydrogen of the selected deliverer and the amount of hydrogen to be delivered to the target consumer (s101).

[0078] For example, the hydrogen demand calculation unit 101 acquires the selected delivery company's daily hydrogen delivery history (delivery information), each consumer's daily hydrogen demand history (demand information), and information on the outside air temperature for each day from the past to the present, for each day of the week and time period, and for each purity of hydrogen.

[0079] Based on the input data acquired in s101, the hydrogen demand calculation unit 101 predicts the remaining amount (reserved amount) of hydrogen of the deliverer for each future day for each purity, and also predicts the delivery amount (used as a judgment threshold) of hydrogen from the selected deliverer to the target consumer for each future day. The hydrogen demand calculation unit 101 stores these predicted remaining amount and delivery amount (s103).

[0080] The method for predicting the remaining amount of hydrogen of the delivery company is not particularly limited, but predictions can be made, for example, by using a statistical method or a trained model constructed by deep learning, etc. Examples of statistical methods that can be used include correlation analysis and regression analysis based on input data.

[0081] In the case of a trained model, for example, the hydrogen demand calculation unit 101 first creates a trained model using a neural network. That is, the hydrogen demand calculation unit 101 uses the data accumulated so far to perform machine learning using a training dataset in which all delivery information and outside temperature information of the selected delivery person are used as input values ​​and the remaining amount of hydrogen of the selected delivery person is used as the output value (correct answer label), thereby creating a trained model for each purity of hydrogen. The hydrogen demand calculation unit 101 inputs the delivery information and outside temperature data acquired in s101 into each trained model created, thereby obtaining the remaining amount of hydrogen for each purity of the selected delivery person.

[0082] Furthermore, the hydrogen demand calculation unit 101 predicts the amount of hydrogen to be delivered to the target consumer based on the input data acquired in s101, and stores this as a determination threshold (s105).

[0083] The method for predicting the amount of hydrogen delivered is not particularly limited, but as in s103, the prediction is made using a statistical method or a trained model.

[0084] In the case of a trained model, for example, the hydrogen demand calculation unit 101 first creates a trained model using a neural network. Using data accumulated up to that point, the hydrogen demand calculation unit 101 creates a trained model for each purity of hydrogen by performing machine learning using a training dataset in which all consumer remaining amount information and outside temperature information for the target consumers are used as input values ​​and the amount of hydrogen delivered by the selected deliverer to the target consumers is used as the output value (correct answer label). The hydrogen demand calculation unit 101 inputs the consumer remaining amount information and outside temperature data acquired in s101 into each trained model created, thereby obtaining the amount of hydrogen delivered by the selected deliverer to the target consumers for each purity of hydrogen, and uses these as the judgment thresholds.

[0085] This completes the remaining amount prediction process s17. If consumer remaining amount information was not acquired in s13, the hydrogen demand amount calculation unit 101 sets a predetermined threshold value for each purity (for example, the current hydrogen delivery amount for the target consumer).

[0086] As described above, the hydrogen trading support device 100 of this embodiment executes a hydrogen supply instruction process that identifies the manufacturer or distributor that will produce and transport hydrogen to meet the hydrogen demand and the conditions for production or transportation based on the hydrogen demand related to quality and quantity, and the index value for greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 emission coefficient), and sends a supply instruction to the energy producer system 400 or the energy distributor system 500 instructing the relevant company to produce and transport hydrogen under the identified conditions.

[0087] In other words, the hydrogen trading support device 100 of this embodiment can identify hydrogen trading conditions (such as the manufacturer and the amount of hydrogen produced by the manufacturer) that will achieve the desired greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring the demand volume and quality desired by the consumer, and can instruct the manufacturer (deliverer) to produce hydrogen that meets these conditions. In this way, the hydrogen trading support device 100 of this embodiment can support hydrogen trading that meets the demand of hydrogen consumers and takes environmental impact into consideration.

[0088] In addition, the hydrogen trading support device 100 of this embodiment predicts whether the delivery company will have enough hydrogen to provide to hydrogen consumers at a specified time in the future based on the amount of hydrogen that the delivery company or consumer currently has or has had in the past, and if it determines that the delivery company does not have enough hydrogen, it executes a hydrogen supply instruction process.

[0089] In this way, when it is predicted that there will be a shortage of hydrogen in the future, by executing the hydrogen supply instruction process in advance, it is possible to maintain a state in which there will be no shortage of hydrogen for consumers.

[0090] Furthermore, when hydrogen produced by multiple producers is mixed, the hydrogen trading support device 100 of this embodiment identifies each producer or distributor that produces and transports hydrogen corresponding to the hydrogen demand described above, as well as the conditions for producing or transporting the hydrogen, and transmits a supply instruction to the energy producer system 400 or the energy distributor system 500 instructing each producer or distributor to produce and transport hydrogen under the identified conditions.

[0091] This allows for the identification of hydrogen transactions that achieve desired greenhouse gas emissions levels when hydrogen of the purity and quantity required by a consumer can be produced by blending hydrogen from multiple producers, thereby enabling flexible hydrogen supply and demand matching that meets the consumer's quality requirements.

[0092] Furthermore, the hydrogen trading support device 100 of this embodiment specifies the hydrogen production volume of each producer based on an evaluation function that calculates the hydrogen production volume of each producer that minimizes greenhouse gas emissions, as indicated by the CO2 emission coefficient, for all producers, with hydrogen demand (quantity and quality) as a constraint and the hydrogen production volume of each producer as a variable, and transmits a supply instruction to each energy producer system 400 or energy distributor system 500 to produce and transport hydrogen at each specified production volume.

[0093] By using an evaluation function having such constraints and variables, it is possible to reliably identify the production volume of each manufacturer that optimizes greenhouse gas emissions for all manufacturers.

[0094] Furthermore, the hydrogen trading support device 100 of this embodiment further identifies each of the multiple producers or distributors who will produce and transport hydrogen corresponding to the hydrogen demand and the conditions for producing or transporting the hydrogen when hydrogen produced by multiple producers is mixed based on the hydrogen demand and cost index value (unit price), and transmits a supply instruction to each energy producer system 400 or energy distributor system 500 instructing each producer or distributor to produce and transport hydrogen under the identified conditions.

[0095] In this way, by identifying the production volume of each producer that optimizes the hydrogen production cost of each producer, it is possible to support hydrogen trading that is suited to the actual circumstances of the trading.

[0096] Furthermore, the hydrogen trading support device 100 of this embodiment can support hydrogen trading according to the actual circumstances of the transaction by selectively controlling whether to execute hydrogen supply instruction processing based on the CO2 emission coefficient or based on cost (hydrogen unit price, etc.) based on settings from the user.

[0097] Furthermore, in the hydrogen trading support device 100 of this embodiment, the CO2 emission coefficient is calculated based on at least one of the manufacturing method, transportation method, transportation distance, or filling method, so that the impact of hydrogen trading on the environment can be accurately reflected in the hydrogen trading support.

[0098] Furthermore, the hydrogen trading support device 100 of this embodiment outputs information regarding the actual and predicted amounts of hydrogen held by the delivery person and the consumer at a predetermined time in the future (administrator screen 600), allowing the user to forecast hydrogen trading and provide more accurate hydrogen trading support.

[0099] Furthermore, in the hydrogen trading support system 1 of this embodiment, the energy supply side system 200 (energy producer system 400, energy distributor system 500) acquires manufacturer information and delivery information from the hydrogen production facility 410 and the hydrogen storage facility 510 and transmits it to the hydrogen trading support device 100, and the energy consumer system 300 transmits consumer information and consumer remaining amount information from the hydrogen utilization facility 310 to the hydrogen trading support device 100 (via the energy distributor system 500), and based on this received information, the hydrogen trading support device 100 transmits a supply instruction to the hydrogen supply side system 200, and based on this supply instruction, the hydrogen supply side system 200 controls the production of hydrogen by the hydrogen production facility 410 or the transportation of hydrogen from the hydrogen storage facility 510.

[0100] This allows for efficient production and transportation of appropriate hydrogen in accordance with supply instructions from the hydrogen trading supporting apparatus 100.

[0101] As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented using any components within the scope of the gist of the present invention. The above-described embodiments and modifications are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these contents as long as the features of the invention are not impaired. Furthermore, although various embodiments and modifications have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these contents. Other aspects conceivable within the scope of the technical idea of ​​the present invention are also included within the scope of the present invention.

[0102] For example, some of the functions provided in each device of this embodiment may be provided in another device, or functions provided in another device may be provided in the same device.

[0103] In addition, in this embodiment, the simplex method is used as a method for calculating the production volume of each manufacturer, but other methods may also be used.

[0104] Furthermore, the configuration of the hydrogen information management DB 110 described in this embodiment is an example, and data relating to other processes or parameters may be set.

[0105] Furthermore, the processes for which the unit price (cost) and CO2 emission coefficient (index of greenhouse gas emissions) are calculated are not limited to the manufacturing and transportation described in this embodiment, and other processes may also be taken into consideration.

[0106] In addition, in this embodiment, the hydrogen supply instruction unit 104 executes the hydrogen supply instruction process by determining whether the delivery company has sufficient hydrogen in stock to provide to hydrogen consumers, but the hydrogen supply instruction process may also be executed by determining whether the manufacturer has sufficient hydrogen in stock to provide to hydrogen consumers.

[0107] Furthermore, the combination of parameters (delivery information, demand information, consumer remaining amount information, outside air temperature) used to predict the remaining amount of hydrogen and the amount of hydrogen delivered in the remaining amount prediction process s17 is not limited to the method described in this embodiment, and other parameters may be introduced, or some parameters may not be used. [Explanation of symbols]

[0108] 1. Hydrogen trading support system 100 Hydrogen trading support device 101 Hydrogen demand calculation unit 102 Greenhouse gas emission coefficient calculation section 104 Hydrogen supply indicator 105 Screen display section

Claims

1. a processor and a memory; a hydrogen demand calculation unit that calculates hydrogen demand in terms of purity and quantity; a greenhouse gas emission coefficient calculation unit that calculates an index value of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the production and transportation of hydrogen of a predetermined purity and a predetermined amount; a hydrogen supply instruction unit that identifies a business operator that will produce and transport hydrogen corresponding to the hydrogen demand and the conditions for producing the hydrogen based on the hydrogen demand calculated by the hydrogen demand calculation unit and the index value of greenhouse gas emissions calculated by the greenhouse gas emission coefficient calculation unit, and executes a hydrogen supply instruction process to instruct the business operator to produce and transport hydrogen under the identified conditions; the hydrogen supply instruction unit identifies the multiple businesses that will produce and transport hydrogen and the production amounts of the hydrogen when the hydrogen demand for hydrogen of a desired purity and amount can be met by mixing hydrogen produced by each of the multiple businesses and having a purity for each of the businesses, and instructs the multiple businesses to produce and transport hydrogen in the identified production amounts; A hydrogen trading support device characterized by:

2. The hydrogen trading support device according to claim 1, The hydrogen supply instruction unit specifies the amount of hydrogen produced by each of the multiple businesses based on an evaluation function that calculates the amount of hydrogen produced by each business that minimizes greenhouse gas emissions, as indicated by the greenhouse gas emission index value, for the multiple businesses as a whole, using the hydrogen demand as a constraint and the hydrogen production amount of each of the multiple businesses as a variable, and executes hydrogen supply instruction processing to instruct the production and transportation of hydrogen at each specified production amount.

3. The hydrogen trading support device according to claim 1, The hydrogen supply instruction unit is a hydrogen trading support device that predicts whether the operator will have sufficient hydrogen to provide to hydrogen consumers at a specified future time based on the amount of hydrogen that the operator and the consumer currently have or have had in the past, and executes the hydrogen supply instruction process if it determines that the operator does not have sufficient hydrogen.

4. The hydrogen trading support device according to claim 1, a cost coefficient calculation unit that calculates an index value of the cost incurred in producing and transporting hydrogen of a predetermined purity and a predetermined amount, The hydrogen supply instruction unit identifies the multiple businesses that will produce and transport hydrogen and the production volume of the hydrogen in a case where the hydrogen demand can be met by mixing hydrogen produced by each of the multiple businesses at the respective purity levels based on the hydrogen demand calculated by the hydrogen demand calculation unit and the cost index value calculated by the cost coefficient calculation unit, and executes a hydrogen supply instruction process to instruct the multiple businesses to produce and transport hydrogen in the identified production volume.

5. The hydrogen trading support device according to claim 4, The hydrogen supply instruction unit selectively controls whether to execute the hydrogen supply instruction process based on the index value of the greenhouse gas emissions or the index value of the cost based on settings made by a user.

6. The hydrogen trading support device according to claim 1, The index value of the greenhouse gas emissions is calculated based on at least one of the hydrogen production method, transportation method, transportation distance, and filling method.

7. The hydrogen trading support device according to claim 3, A hydrogen trading support device comprising an output unit that outputs display information regarding the actual and predicted amounts of hydrogen held by the business operator or the consumer at the calculated predetermined time in the future.

8. The information processing device A hydrogen demand calculation process for calculating hydrogen demand in terms of purity and quantity; a greenhouse gas emission coefficient calculation process for calculating an index value of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the production and transportation of hydrogen of a predetermined purity and a predetermined amount; a hydrogen supply instruction process for specifying a business operator that will produce and transport hydrogen to meet the hydrogen demand and the conditions for producing the hydrogen based on the hydrogen demand calculated in the hydrogen demand calculation process and the index value of greenhouse gas emissions calculated in the greenhouse gas emission coefficient calculation process, and for instructing the business operator to produce and transport hydrogen under the specified conditions; In the hydrogen supply instruction process, in a case where the hydrogen demand for hydrogen of a desired purity and amount can be met by mixing hydrogen produced by each of a plurality of businesses and having a purity for each of the businesses, the process identifies the plurality of businesses that will produce and transport hydrogen and the production amounts of the hydrogen, and instructs the plurality of businesses to produce and transport hydrogen in the identified production amounts. Hydrogen trading support methods.

9. The hydrogen trading support method according to claim 8, The information processing device, In the hydrogen supply instruction process, the hydrogen demand is used as a constraint condition, and the hydrogen production volume of each of the plurality of businesses is used as a variable, and based on an evaluation function that calculates the hydrogen production volume by each business that minimizes the greenhouse gas emissions indicated by the greenhouse gas emission index value for the plurality of businesses as a whole, the hydrogen production volume of each of the plurality of businesses is identified, and hydrogen supply instruction process is executed to instruct the production and transportation of hydrogen at each identified production volume. Hydrogen trading support methods.

10. The hydrogen trading support method according to claim 8, The information processing device, In the hydrogen supply instruction process, whether the business operator will have sufficient hydrogen to provide to hydrogen consumers at a predetermined time in the future is predicted based on the amount of hydrogen currently held or previously held by the business operator and the consumer, and if it is determined that the business operator does not have sufficient hydrogen, the hydrogen supply instruction process is executed. Hydrogen trading support methods.

11. The hydrogen trading support method according to claim 8, The information processing device, further performing a cost coefficient calculation process to calculate an index value of the cost incurred in producing and transporting hydrogen of a predetermined purity and a predetermined amount; In the hydrogen supply instruction process, the hydrogen demand calculated by the hydrogen demand calculation unit and the cost index value calculated in the cost coefficient calculation process are mixed together to meet the hydrogen demand, and the hydrogen is produced by each of the plurality of businesses at a purity level for each business. In this case, the hydrogen supply instruction process identifies the plurality of businesses that will produce and transport hydrogen and the production volumes of the hydrogen, and instructs the plurality of businesses to produce and transport hydrogen in the identified production volumes. Hydrogen trading support methods.

12. The hydrogen trading support method according to claim 11, The information processing device, selectively controlling whether the hydrogen supply instruction process is executed based on the index value of the greenhouse gas emissions or the index value of the cost based on a setting made by a user; Hydrogen trading support methods.

13. The hydrogen trading support method according to claim 8, The index value of the greenhouse gas emissions is calculated based on at least one of the hydrogen production method, transportation method, transportation distance, or filling method. Hydrogen trading support methods.

14. The hydrogen trading support method according to claim 10, The information processing device, Execute an output process to output display information relating to the actual value and predicted value of the amount of hydrogen held by the business operator or the consumer at the calculated predetermined time in the future. Hydrogen trading support methods.

15. A hydrogen trading support system having a processor and a memory, and including at least a supply-side system, a demander system, and a hydrogen trading support device, The supply-side system acquires information on the amount and purity of hydrogen that can be provided from a hydrogen production facility or storage facility, and transmits the acquired information to the hydrogen trading support device; The consumer system acquires information on the amount and purity of hydrogen held from the hydrogen utilization facility and transmits the acquired information to the hydrogen trading support device; The hydrogen trading support device a hydrogen demand calculation unit that calculates hydrogen demand in terms of purity and quantity; a greenhouse gas emission coefficient calculation unit that calculates an index value of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the production and transportation of hydrogen of a predetermined purity and a predetermined amount; a hydrogen supply instruction unit that identifies a business operator that will produce and transport hydrogen corresponding to the hydrogen demand and conditions for producing the hydrogen based on the hydrogen demand calculated by the hydrogen demand calculation unit and the index value of greenhouse gas emissions calculated by the greenhouse gas emission coefficient calculation unit, and executes a hydrogen supply instruction process that instructs the business operator to produce and transport hydrogen under the identified conditions; Equipped with the hydrogen supply instruction unit identifies the multiple businesses that will produce and transport hydrogen and the production amounts of the hydrogen when the hydrogen demand for hydrogen of a desired purity and amount can be met by mixing hydrogen produced by each of the multiple businesses and having a purity for each of the businesses, and instructs the multiple businesses to produce and transport hydrogen in the identified production amounts; the supply-side system controls the production of hydrogen by the production facility or the transportation of hydrogen from the storage facility based on the instruction. Hydrogen trading support system.

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