Optimal planning for electricity-hydrogen integrated energy system considering multiple timescale operations and representative time-period selection

As the integration of renewable energy sources (RES) progresses and energy technologies advance, integrated energy systems (IES) have emerged as a practical solution for leveraging RES and balancing local demand–supply dynamics. This paper investigates the planning and optimization of operations for an electricity-hydrogen integrated energy system (EH-IES), considering degradation and multi-timescale operations of storage devices to minimize the life cycle costs. To mitigate computational challenges, the planning model adopts a Representative Time Period (RTP) framework, and a novel intertemporal operation model is developed to coordinate the operations of battery and hydrogen storage. Furthermore, we propose a two-stage approach to derive representative weeks and hours from meteorological and load data using fewer data points, ensuring chronological coherence and preserving long-term patterns to validate storage device constraints and improve planning accuracy. Case studies in southeastern China’s IES verify the effectiveness of our planning approach, which lowers equivalent annual costs by 4.5% and reduces battery capacity needs by 12.8%, thereby highlighting its significant economic benefits. Additionally, numerical analyses reveal that our two-stage method surpasses conventional RTP selection techniques, delivering at least 10% less average error with an equal number of operating points.