Thermodynamic performance assessment of solar-based hydrogen production systems in Turkey: A detailed review

Being one of the countries with high solar irradiance levels, Turkey has a significant potential for hydrogen production from solar energy, which can play a crucial role in the country's transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. This study offers a comprehensive analysis of solar energy systems producing hydrogen in Turkey with respect to energy and exergy efficiencies and hydrogen production rates. The systems that use not only solar energy, acquired through solar thermal collectors, photovoltaic, and photovoltaic/thermal panels, but also hybrid systems that integrate solar energy with various other renewable sources are examined. The findings show that the energy and exergy efficiencies of the systems vary within a wide range. The energy efficiency ranges from 3.44 % to 80 % and the exergy efficiency varies between 3.44 % and 93 %. Also, it was found that systems that use only solar energy via concentrating solar collectors and solar-biomass hybrid systems are the most efficient systems with respect to energy and exergy efficiencies and hydrogen production rates. Besides, photovoltaic panels have widespread and well-established use. Hence, these technologies are the most promising for future solar hydrogen production in Turkey.