Techno-economic assessment of a hydrogen-based microgrid for sustainable water pumping

Abstract

This study presents the potential feasibility of deploying hybrid microgrids for off-grid water supply in rural and agro-processing applications in Nigeria. Nine microgrid configurations which combine photovoltaic (PV) panels, wind turbines (WT), fuel cells (FC), electrolyzers (EL), hydrogen (H 2 ) storage, battery storage (BAT), diesel generators (GEN), and power converters (CONV) were techno-economically examined. Among these configurations, the PV/EL/FC/H 2 system (S2) emerged as a promising option for combined electricity and hydrogen production, generating approximately 1.19 GWh of electricity yearly, with annual unmet load of 75 kWh and capacity shortages of 152–192 kWh/year. Also, the system simultaneously generates 5517 kg of hydrogen annually at a Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) of 6.33 $/kg, achieves a Cost of energy (COE) of 0.180 $/kWh with 100% renewable fraction, and maintains a Net Present Cost (NPC) of $451,731. This configuration demonstrates technical feasibility, economic competitiveness, and environmental sustainability. These results show the potential for utilizing hydrogen-based microgrids in off-grid applications, and support policy formulation, green financing, and large-scale rural energy deployment in Sub-Saharan Africa.