A life-cycle economic comparison of distributed photovoltaic power stations coupled with integrated electrolysis systems: optimization of directly and indirectly coupled modes

Integrating distributed photovoltaic (PV) systems for hydrogen production has gained an increasing research attention as a way to improve solar energy utilization and enhance energy storage. However, economic assessments of different technological routes for PV-powered electrolysis remain limited. This study fills this gap by evaluating the life cycle economic feasibility of distributed PV stations coupled with integrated electrolysis systems (IES). The main contribution of this work is the comprehensive analysis of both direct and indirect coupling of PV and electrolysis systems, providing new insights into the cost-effectiveness and long-term potential of solar-driven hydrogen production. For the direct coupling of PV power generation with proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers, MATLAB/Simulink is used for simulation experiments. For indirect coupling, experimental data from distributed PV power stations and PEM and alkaline (ALK) electrolyzers in practical application at the Yumen Oilfield are used. The results show that the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) for directly coupled PEM is € 2.93–2.99/kg, for indirectly coupled PEM, it is € 4.47–4.65/kg, and for indirectly coupled ALK, it is € 2.55–2.68/kg. These findings are significant for the economic analysis of PV panels directly coupled with PEM and distributed PV hydrogen production systems.