Modeling and Simulation of Green Hydrogen Production via Seawater Desalination for Decarbonizing the Steel Sector

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Expert in Energy Audit, Department of Energy and Environment, Iranian National Standard Organization, Bandar Abbas, Iran

Abstract

Steel production, as a foundational industry and one of the earliest segments in the value chain of goods and services, remains essential to economic development. Given the historically high environmental impact associated with steel manufacturing, the use of green hydrogen as both an energy source and a means for decarbonizing the final product has seen a significant rise globally. Hormozgan Province, due to its proximity to the Persian Gulf and access to seawater, offers considerable potential for the production of green hydrogen. The use of floating solar panels combined with electrolysis technology provides a promising pathway for sustainable hydrogen generation. In this study, after identifying suitable locations for the installation of seawater pretreatment systems, the desalination process was modeled using the WAVE software. The required energy for the electrolysis process and initial hydrogen production was then calculated. Subsequently, the configuration of the floating solar panel arrays was simulated using PVSOL software. Based on the simulation results, under a daily operational schedule of 8 hours, and with the proposed floating solar segments supplying the required energy, it is possible to produce over 18.5 tons of hydrogen annually. By expanding the buffer storage tanks and increasing the number of floating solar sectors, the system’s production capacity can be scaled up to meet higher consumption demands.

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References

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Journal of sustainable Energy Systems
Volume 5, Issue 2
April 2026
Pages 235-250

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