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Large-scale centralized development of wind and solar energy and peer-to-grid transmission of renewable energy source (RES) via high voltage direct current (HVDC) has been regarded as one of the most promising ways to achieve goals of peak carbon and carbon neutrality in China. Traditionally, large-scale thermal generation is needed to economically support the load demand of HVDC with a given profile, which in turn raises concerns about carbon emissions. To address the issues above, hydrogen energy storage system (HESS) and ammonia energy storage system (AESS) are introduced to gradually replace thermal generation, which is represented as a multi-stage expansion planning (MSEP) problem. Specifically, first, HESS and AESS are established in the MSEP model with carbon emission reduction constraints, and yearly data with hourly time resolution are utilized for each stage to well describe the intermittence of RES. Then, a combined Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition (DWD) and column generation (CG) solution approach is proposed to efficiently solve the large-scale MSEP model. Finally, a real-life system in China is studied. The results indicate that HESS and AESS have the potential to handle the intermittence of RES, as well as the monthly imbalance between RES and load demand. Especially under the goal of carbon neutrality, the contribution of HESS and AESS in reducing levelized cost of energy (LCOE) reaches 12.28% and 14.59%, respectively, which finally leads to a LCOE of 0.4324 RMB/kWh., Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures

Inhomogeneous current and temperature distributions are harmful to the durability of the solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC). Segmented SOEC experiments reveal that a high steam utilization, which is favorable for system efficiency, leads to local steam starvation and enhanced the inhomogeneity. It is necessary to consider inhomogeneity and efficiency jointly in optimization studies. Three-dimensional (3D) multiphysics models validated with experiments can simulate the inhomogeneity in a reliable manner, but they are unsuitable for optimization due to the high computational cost. This study proposes a method that combines segmented SOEC experiments, multiphysics simulation, and artificial intelligence to optimize the inhomogeneity and efficiency of SOEC jointly. A 3D cell model is first built and verified by segmented SOEC experiments. Then, fast neural network surrogate models are built from the simulation data and integrated into a multi-objective optimization problem. Its solutions form a Pareto front reflecting the conflicting relationships among different objectives. It is found that the down-stream current is 60%-65% of the up-stream current when the steam utilization is 0.7. To increase the steam utilization to 0.8, the down-stream current will further drop to 50%-60% of the up-stream current. The Pareto fronts enable system operators to achieve a balance between efficiency and inhomogeneity.