Thermodynamic analysis of solar hydrogen production with high temperature steam electrolysis

In this paper, a new solar hydrogen production system with high temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE) is designed. The system utilizes solar energy as the only prime energy source. Solar concentrating and spectral beam splitting technologies are employed to provide electricity and thermal energy for high temperature steam electrolysis. Additionally, the heat of electrolysis products is recuperated by heat exchanger. Thermodynamic analysis results show that (1) the system hydrogen production efficiency can reach 34.8%, and (2) the solar concentrating and spectral beam splitting device is the principal thermodynamics loss source. It is found that an increase in temperature and decrease in operating voltage can reduce the exergy destruction in the electrolysis cell.