Infrastructure design for a hydrogen refuelling network with pipelines
提出一种最小化加氢基础设施建设和运营成本的网络设计模型，结合选址与供应方式（现场制氢或管道/拖车配送），通过分支切割算法求解，并在英格兰北部案例中验证了管道配送的经济性。
In this paper, we present a novel variation of the network design problem to obtain a minimum setup and operational cost hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. The problem is modelled as a mixed integer linear programming problem which incorporates both location and supply considerations. More specifically, the model is employed to determine the optimal locations for hydrogen refuelling stations and the methods of supplying and delivering hydrogen to each station. The supply of hydrogen is considered in two forms, on-site or localised supply, and off-site or centralised supply. In the latter case, hydrogen is distributed to the refuelling stations by means of either tube trailers or a hydrogen pipeline. The complexity of solving the network design problem primarily arises from the routing decisions for the hydrogen pipeline. To address this, we derived two different formulations and developed a branch-and-cut algorithm. We then compared the two formulations in a preliminary computational study where we found that the generalised cut-set formulation paired with a polynomial time separation procedure was the most efficient. Finally, we applied our model to a real-world case study in the north of England. The results demonstrated that incorporating hydrogen delivery by pipelines significantly improved the objective function.