Modeling hydrogen integration in energy system models: Best practices for policy insights

The rapid emergence of hydrogen in long-term energy strategies requires a broad understanding on how hydrogen is currently modelled in national energy system models. This study provides a review on hydrogen representation within selected energy system models that are tailored towards providing policy insights. This paper adopts a multi-layered review approach and selects eleven notable models for the review. In contrast to existing reviews of empirical studies, this study directly scrutinizes national energy system models that inform policy development and evaluates their treatment of hydrogen. The review covers hydrogen production, storage, transportation, trade, demand, modeling strategies, and hydrogen policies. The review suggests existing models would often opt for a simplified representation that can capture each stage of the hydrogen supply chain. This approach allows models to strike a balance between accuracy and preserving computational resources. The paper provides several suggestions for modeling hydrogen in national energy system models.