Journal of sustainable Energy Systems

Journal of sustainable Energy Systems

Assessment of the Role of Hydrogen in Energy Storage for Solving Energy Shortfalls in Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Faeze Allahdadi 1
Mozhdeh Sajjadi 2
Behnam Sedaee 3
1 MSc Student in Institute of Petroleum Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Institute of Petroleum Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
3 Associate Professor, Institute of Petroleum Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
10.22059/ses.2026.412571.1226
Abstract
In Iran, the imbalance in the supply and consumption of electricity and gas has challenged domestic and industrial users and made the use of renewable energies inevitable. Given the unstable nature of renewable energies, the use of hydrogen for energy storage is considered a vital step. However, this issue must be analyzed according to the local requirements and supplies of each region. In this paper, a scenario-based analysis based on energy and cost balance is presented to compare hydrogen (gray and green) and natural gas for seasonal energy storage. The evaluation criteria include energy efficiency (by calculating the required power plant capacity), carbon emissions, and investment cost. The results show that the direct use of renewable electricity and, if necessary, energy storage in the form of natural gas, eliminates the loss of energy value in the process of energy to hydrogen conversion, and require less power plant capacity. This strategy requires 8.2 GW of capacity to address the summer imbalance compared to 9.5 GW, and 39.3 GW of capacity to address the winter imbalance compared to 71.7 GW in hydrogen-based scenarios. Meeting both imbalances requires 73.6 GW with hydrogen storage, and 43.3 GW with natural gas storage combined with direct renewable electricity. Despite the economic and energy advantages of natural gas in the short term, the limited availability of fossil fuel resources and the imperative need to move towards new energy storage technologies in the near future necessitate the development of green hydrogen production systems.
Keywords
Energy analysis
Carbon footprint
Energy shortfall
Grey hydrogen
Green hydrogen
Subjects
 [1] M. A. Nemitallah, A. A. Alnazha, U. Ahmed, M. El-Adawy and A. Habib, "Review on techno-economics of hydrogen production using current and emerging processes: Status and perspectives," Results Engineering, vol. 21, p. 101890, 2024.
[2] M. Ali, A. Isah, N. Yekeen, A. Hassanpouryouzband, M. Sarmadivaleh, E. R. Okoroafor, M. A. Kobaisi, M. Mahmoud, V. Vahrenkamp and H. Hoteit, "Recent progress in underground hydrogen storage," Energy Environmental Science, vol. 18, pp. 5740-5810, 2025.
[3] "Paris Agreement to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change," United Nations, December 2015. [Online]. Available: https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement.
[4] J.-F. Morin and A. J. Orsini, Essential concepts of global environmental covernance, Routledge: London: Earthscan from Routledge, 2014, pp. 86-88.
[5] Y. Abdelilah, A. A. Báscones, V. Anatolitis-Pelka, H. B. M. Bockhold, P. Bojek, F. Briens, M. L. Trevor Criswell, J. Moorhouse, H. Papolczi and L. M. Martínez, "Renewables 2025 Analysis and forecast to 2030," International Energy Agency (IEA), 2025.
[6] J. Moore and B. Shabani, "A Critical Study of Stationary Energy Storage Policies in Australia in an International Context: The Role of Hydrogen and Battery Technologies," Energies, vol. 9, no. 674, 2016.
[7] "Battery Storage for Renewables: Market Status and Technology Outlook," International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Abu Dhabi, 2015.
[8] K. T. Nguyen, N. Y. Xu, J. Y. Zhang, T. Shang, A. Y. Dubord, L. Heinemann, E. P. Krisiunas, T. Sumpe, D. A. Seid and D. C. Klonoff, in Green Diabetes Summit 2021, 2022.
[9] D. Santos, C. Sequeria and J. Figueiredo, "Hydrogen production by alkaline water electrolysis," vol. 36, pp. 1176-1193, 2013.
[10] F. Frieden and J. Leker, "Future costs of hydrogen: a quantitative review - Sustainable Energy & Fuels (RSC Publishing)," Sustainable Energy Fuels, vol. 8, pp. 1806-1822, 2024.
[11] M. Salimi, M. Hosseinpour and T. Borhani, "The Role of Clean Hydrogen Value Chain in a Successful Energy TRansition of Japan," Energies, vol. 15, no. 16, p. 6064, 2022.
[12] M. Oghalaei, A. Barati, K. Beygi, A. Rajabi and S. Sanjari, "Feasibility study of hydrogen technology development in Iran's oil industry with an approach of technological pilot development (Persian)," 2023.
[13] A. Kakavand, S. Sayadi, G. Tsatsaronis and A. Behbahaninia, "Techno-economic assessment of green hydrogen and ammonia production from wind and solar enery in Iran," International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 48, pp. 14170-14191, 2023.
[14] M. Yang, R. Hunger, S. Berrettoni, B. Sprecher and B. Wang, "A review of hydrogen storage and transport technologies," Clean Energy, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 190-216, 2023.
[15] R. B. Saliman, F. S. Lau, R. J. Dihu and M. Khinkis, "Production of hydrogen by superadiabatic decomposition of hydrogen sulfide," in Proceedings of the U.S. DOE Hydrogen Program Review , 2002.
[16] R. Khorasani, M. Khodaparasti and O. Tavakkoli, "Hydrogen Production from Dairy Wastwater Using Catalytic Supercritical Water Gasification: Mechanism and Reaction Pathway," International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 22368-22384, 2021.
[17] A. Neubeck, N. Duc, H. Hellvang, C. Oze, D. Bastviken, Z. Bacsik and N. G. Holm, "Olivin alteration and H2 production in carbonate-rich, low temperature aqueous environments," Planetary and Space Science, vol. 96, pp. 51-61, 2014.
[18] M. Newborough and G. Cooley, "Development in the global hydrogen market: the spectrum of hydrogen colours," Fuel Cell Bull, vol. 11, pp. 16-22, 2020.
[19] A. B. Yajloo and E. A. Hamedani, "Simulation of a solar-based small scale green hydrogen production unit in Iran: A techno-economic feasibility analysis," Results in Engineering, vol. 27, p. 106734, 2025.
[20] C. Solomon, R. N. Salas, D. Malina, C. Sacks, C. Hardin and E. Prewitt, "Fossil-fuel pollution and climate change," The New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 386, no. 24, pp. 2328-2329, 2022.
[21] M. E. Nia, P. M. Asl, H. Mahani and S. Ayatollahi, "Techno-Economic Feasibility of Underground Hydrogen Storage in Iran: A Path to Sustainable Energy Integration," International Journal of Energy and Water Resources, 2025.
[22] Z. Almahmoodi, M. Gilavand and B. Sedaee, "Deep Learning-Based Prediction of Hydrogen Dynamics and Mixing Phenomenon in Fractured Aquifers for Underground Hydrogen Storage," Energy and Fuels, vol. 39, no. 14, pp. 7069-7091, 2025.
[23] M. Abdoos, H. Yousefi and A. Shahee, "Green hydrogen development in Iran: a SWOT analysis of challenges and opportunities focusing on renewable energy resources," Discover Sustainability, vol. 6, no. 435, 2025.
[24] S. S. A. Alkareem, Q. Hassan, H. F. Fakhruldeen, T. M. Hanoon, F. I. Jabbar, S. Algburi and D. H. Khalaf, "A review on physical and chemical hydrogen storage methods for sustainable energy applications," Unconventional Resources, vol. 8, p. 100235, 2025.
[25] M. S. Rahman, H. A. Jan, M. R. Hasan and A. Etminan, "Optimization of Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Production for Residential Load in Alberta: A CFD Study," Hydrogen, Fuel Cell, & Energy Storage, vol. 3, pp. 119-168, 2025.
[26] S. Sebbahi, N. Nabil, A. Alaoui-Belghiti, S. Laasri, S. Rachidi and A. Hajjaji, "Assessment of the three most developed water electrolysis technologies: alkaline water electrolysis, proton exchange membrane, and solid-oxide melectrolysis," in Materials Today: Proceedings, 2022.
[27] V. Rodriguez, C. Gomez-Sacedon and A. d. Lucas-Consuegra, "Anion exchange membrane electrolysis beyond the lab scale: a review on research and industry stacks," Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering, vol. 51, p. 101218, 2026.
[28] B. Tashie-Lewis and S. Nnabuife, "Hydrogen Production, Distribution, Storage, and Power Conversion in a Hydrogen Economy - A Technology Review," Chemical Engineering Journal Advances, vol. 8, p. 100172, 2021.
[29] S. Truslov, E. L. Bruce and H. H. P. Yiu, "An appraisal on various hyderogen productions and their CO2 emissions - a comparison on the grey, blue and green pathways," Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, vol. 100, pp. 1753-1761, 2025.
[30] A. Ajanovic, M. Sayer and R. Haas, "The economics and the environmental benignity of different colors of hydrogen," International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 47, no. 57, pp. 24136-24154, 2022.
[31] S. Nicholson and G. Health, "Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Electricity Generation: Update".
[32] D. Nugent and B. K. Sovacool, "Assessing the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from solar PV and wind energy: A critical meta -survey," Energy Policy, vol. 65 (C), pp. 229-244, 2014.
[33] S. Sobczuk, A. Jaron, M. Mazur and A. Borucka, "Renewable Energy and CO2 Emissions: Analysis of the Life Cycle and Impact on the ‎Ecosystem in the Context of Energy Mix Changes‎," Energies, vol. 18, no. 13, 2025.
[34] A. Singlitico, J. Ostergaard and S. Chatzivasileiadis, "Onshore, offshore or in-turbine electrolysis? techno-economic overview of alternative integration designs for green hydrogen production into offshore wind power hubs," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Transition, vol. 1, p. 10005, 2021.
[35] U. R. a. J. M. B. Menendez, "Global Hydrogen Review 2024," International Energy Agency (IEA), 2025.
[36] M. Herdem, D. Mazzeo, N. Matera, C. Baglivo, N. Khan and P. Congedo, "A brief overview of solar and wind-based green hydrogen production systems: Trends and standardization," International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 51, pp. 340-353, 2024.
[37] H. Gharibvand, G. B. Gharehpetian and A. Anvari-Moghaddam, "Feasibility studies of green hydrogen production using photovoltaic systems in Iran's southern coastal regions," International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 94, no. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.11.160, pp. 1212-1223, 2024.
[38] L. -L. Dulau, "CO2 Emissions of Battery Electric Vehicles andHydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles," Clean Technologies, vol. 5, pp. 696-712, 2023.
[39] D. Zivar, S. Kumar and J. Foroozesh, "Underground hydrogen storage: A comprehensive review," International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020.
[40] "Website of Iran Statistical Center," Iran Statistical Center, [Online]. Available: https://amar.org.ir/energy-statistics. [Accessed 2025].
[41] A. Naziri, A. R. Tahavvor, M. A. Shirazi and R. Zaehdi, "Feasibility study on heat recovery from gas turbine exhaust for absorption chiller operation and efficiency enhancement using neural networks," Thermal Science and Engineering Progress, 2025.
[42] M. A. Shirazi, R. Zahedi, H. Yousefi and A. Aslani, "Environmental and damage assessment of electric vehicles compared to internal combustion engine vehicles under various ambient temperature scenarios using the LCA approach," Energy Nexus, vol. 20, p. 100606, 2025.
[43] E. Papadis and G. Tsatsaronis, "Challenges in the decarboniazation of the energy sector," Energy, vol. 205, p. 118025, 2020.
Journal of sustainable Energy Systems
Volume 5, Issue 4
Autumn 2026
Pages 717-740