Three-year real-world operation of a hydrogen energy utilization system in an office building: Seasonal energy shifting and operational improvement

This study presents a three-year field validation of Hydro Q-BiC®, a building-integrated hydrogen energy utilization system installed in an operating office building in Kanazawa, Japan. The system integrates 140 kW photovoltaics, a lithium-ion battery, water electrolysis, 1350 Nm 3 of TiFe-based metal hydride storage, a 100 kW fuel cell, and useful-heat utilization. Fiscal year (FY) 2021 confirmed coordinated operation and supported the feasibility of seasonal hydrogen storage, whereas FY2022 showed that a static yearly plan did not preserve sufficient hydrogen for winter. In FY2023, an updated seasonal plan combined with short-term forecast-informed operation increased January–March net fuel-cell electricity generation from 106 to 893 kWh. These results indicate that preserving hydrogen when replenishment was uncertain contributed to its predominant use during the intended winter period under real building operating constraints. The measurements further identified a trade-off between preserving hydrogen for winter while maintaining an untested emergency reserve and retaining storage capacity for subsequent surplus photovoltaic electricity.