A new project aims to use artificial intelligence to speed up hydrogen production in Scotland, helping the country reach net zero targets and power thousands of homes and businesses every year.
Computer scientists from the University of Aberdeen and software company Intelligent Plant will use explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) to develop a decision support system (DSS) to tackle production shortfalls and help Scotland to reach its target of 5 GW of installed hydrogen production, or one-sixth. of the country’s energy needs by 2030.
They are working in partnership with the European Marine Energy Center (EMEC) on the project, which has been funded through the Scottish Government’s Emerging Energy Technologies Fund.
The University of Aberdeen noted the complexities and logistical challenges involved in producing green hydrogen in its statement on the project. It is worth mentioning that green hydrogen is generated from renewable sources and depends on the vagaries of wind speed or tidal energy.
The University added that decisions aimed at optimizing production are usually made by subject matter experts based on experience, using traditional so-called “black box” decision support systems that cannot provide clear reasoning and that users do not have full confidence.
To overcome these deficiencies and the impact on production, the researchers will use explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) that will allow operators to ask the system questions, receive feedback and modify their approach if necessary, the University noted. Crucially, using XAI will enable trust by ensuring that decisions are clearly explained, he added.
“A hydrogen production facility must balance a myriad of demands, especially when running on intermittent renewable energy, and must take into account current and future forecasts of energy storage, consumption, availability and cost,” said Nir Oren, a professor at the University of Aberdeen. , said
“An AI-based decision support system aims to take these multiple factors into account to optimize hydrogen production, but the system is only as good as the data it receives, so it’s critical that the decisions made by system are explainable, that it can justify its decisions, and that the factors that lead to decisions can be understood and modified,” added Oren.
“In this project we draw on ideas from the area of explainable AI, and more particularly from the theory of formal argumentation, to allow users to interrogate the system and understand why it suggested specific courses of action. With this approach, the DSS will build user confidence which we hope will ultimately lead to increased green hydrogen production, an important factor in helping Scotland achieve its net zero ambitions,” Oren continued.
Orkney-based EMEC operators will test the system using the Intelligent Plant industrial app store, which will provide an easy and accessible interface for operators in the field. Paul Gowans of Intelligent Plant will work alongside Oren as part of the project.
“Using the Smart Plant Industrial App Store as an XAI enabler will allow operators to better understand their system,” explained Gowans.
“It will enable live connectivity to EMEC sites and allow the team to demonstrate how the AI system can be integrated with real systems and data to optimize energy management in a practical and scalable way,” added Gowans .
“Our ultimate goal is to create a DSS that can be used to make recommendations on hydrogen logistics and whose recommendations can be consulted and corrected as circumstances change. In the longer term, we could look to extend this technology to benefit other renewable sources such as wind and solar, further increasing the impact of the project which has the potential to meet Scotland’s renewable energy targets,” he continued.
It’s worth noting that green hydrogen was recently in the Scottish Government’s spotlight. Namely, Scotland provided £7m of government funding to drive innovation in renewable hydrogen production, storage and distribution earlier this month.
Funding for the Hydrogen Innovation Scheme was announced at the All-Energy conference in Glasgow by Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf.
Yousaf then noted that Scotland “committed £100m, during this parliamentary session” to support the green hydrogen sector and the £7m under the Hydrogen Innovation Plan they would be awarded to 32 different projects.
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