Adaptive operation strategy for wind-hydrogen systems integrating alkaline and proton exchange membrane electrolyzers

This paper addresses the lack of comprehensive models and effective management strategies for hybrid electrolyzer arrays consisting of alkaline electrolyzers (ALKEL) and proton exchange membrane electrolyzers (PEMEL), which are critical to optimizing the performance of wind-hydrogen systems. To this end, we develop electro-thermal models for both ALKEL and PEMEL, incorporating key operational factors such as state switching, hydrogen production, load balancing, and thermal management. These models are experimentally validated to ensure their accuracy. Building on these models, we propose a novel adaptive state-switching rolling optimization strategy that considers system efficiency, wind curtailment, cold/hot start frequencies, and temperature variations. In comparison, we also evaluate two conventional strategies: simple on/off control and periodic rotation. Our results demonstrate that the proposed strategy increases hydrogen production by 10.52 %–14.78 %, reduces production time variation by up to 73.04 %, and improves load balancing and temperature stability. Over a full annual operational cycle, the proposed strategy yields the highest system efficiency, minimizes startup/shutdown frequency, and optimizes load factors. Specifically, it increases hydrogen production by 12.2 %–28.9 % and reduces the wind curtailment rate to 1.71 %. This study provides both theoretical models and practical management strategies to enhance the efficient operation of hybrid electrolyzer-based wind-hydrogen systems.