Note: This course can be started from 1 May 2024 until 10 July 2024, and it will be closed for all participants on 24 July 2024. Please note that all assignments should be submitted before the end date in order to obtain the certificate.

Experience the characteristics and operation of the various steps required to efficiently convert solar energy into green hydrogen, in large photovoltaic systems.

This course provides you with practical experience with large photovoltaic (PV) systems and the production and utilization of green hydrogen. If you are familiar with the functioning of PV systems and with the principles of operation of electrolyzers and fuel cells, in this course you will see – in real time – how all these components can work together in a cohesive system and how they can be scaled up to create a large power plant.

You will gain this practical experience in a virtual lab environment, in which you will conduct experiments. This course includes 4 parts as below:

Part 1 – A Photovoltaic Power Plant

You will investigate the design and performance of a large photovoltaic power plant in various weather and operational conditions.

Part 2 – Electrolyzers and Fuel Cells

You will analyze the operation of an electrolyzer, to produce hydrogen, and of a fuel cell, which uses hydrogen to produce electricity.

Part 3 – Green Hydrogen Production and Utilization

You will combine a PV module with electrolyzer and fuel cell in a single system, to study the production of green hydrogen from solar energy and its subsequent utilization to generate electricity.

Part 4 – A Photovoltaic + Green Hydrogen Power Plant

You will study the design and operation of a large power plant, that combines photovoltaic modules, electrolyzers and fuel cells to create an autonomous system capable of producing green hydrogen and subsequently use it to cleanly generate electricity.

This course is part of the Solar and Chemical Energy Conversions for Green Hydrogen program. This program offers renewable energy professionals the opportunity to enrich their understanding of the theory and best practices behind the entire conversion process that transforms the energy of light through photovoltaic systems into green hydrogen – through practical work. It also suits engineers new to the industry who seek a more “hands on” experience with solar and hydrogen production equipment who will gain a more pragmatic understanding of their work.
Package price - the full professional certificate program consisting of two courses: € 650 (saving € 140). Read more.

What You'll Learn:

After conducting experiments in this course you will be able to:

• Design and assess the performance of large photovoltaic system;
• Understand the principles of operation of hydrogen production (with electrolyzers) and utilization (in fuel cells);
• Combine photovoltaic modules, electrolyzers and fuel cells to create small-scale systems capable of generating green hydrogen, and characterize the performance of such systems;
• Design and evaluate the operation of a large-scale system that converts the energy of sunlight into green hydrogen.

About the PVMD group at TU Delft

The Photovoltaic Materials and Devices (PVMD) group has more than twenty years' experience in the field of PV device characterization and modeling, as well as in researching the use of solar energy to produce green hydrogen. The group has earned its academic reputation through a significant number of publications on the topic, authored by the instructors of this online course. The group has been in direct contact with leading firms in the solar energy sector all over the world and continues to contribute to further advancement in the field. Specifically, the group contributes to the optimization of thin-film and wafer-based silicon solar cells, the development of novel concepts using nano-structured materials for future high-efficient solar cells, the demonstration of smart modules and PV-power multi-functional building elements, and the energy yield modeling of X-Integrated PV systems.