Electric Power ›› 2026, Vol. 59 ›› Issue (6): 24-36.DOI: 10.11930/j.issn.1004-9649.202602036

• Intelligence, Green, Resilience: Technology and Market Integration for the New Electricity System Toward 2035 • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Deep reinforcement learning-driven decision-making paradigm for electricity-carbon-hydrogen collaboration

ZHANG Fuchun1(), CHEN Wenjun1(), ZENG Tianze2(), LIU Nian3, GUO Hongzhen1, LIU Dunnan1, WANG Peng4, XU Chuanbo1()   

  1. 1. School of Economics and Management, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
    2. School of Computer Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia
    3. State Key Laboratory of Alternate Electrical Power System with Renewable Energy Sources, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
    4. National Institute of Energy Development Strategy, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
  • Received:2026-02-24 Revised:2026-06-02 Online:2026-06-22 Published:2026-06-28
  • Supported by:
    This work is supported by Joint Funds of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.U23B20124) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.72303063).

Abstract:

To achieve synergistic optimization of low-carbon energy systems, electricity-carbon-hydrogen synergy has become one of the critical pathways. However, its high dimensionality, nonlinearity, and strong uncertainties limit traditional optimization methods. Deep reinforcement learning (DRL), with its ability to learn from data, adapt to dynamic environments, and support multi-objective decision-making, offers a promising solution. This paper reviews the mechanisms of electricity-carbon-hydrogen synergy and the necessity of applying DRL, summarizing recent progress in electricity markets, carbon markets, electricity-carbon synergy, electricity-hydrogen synergy, and their integration. The results show that DRL holds significant potential for enhancing renewable energy integration, optimizing carbon trading, and coordinating multi-energy flows, though challenges remain in model complexity, interpretability, safety, and multi-objective trade-offs. Future research should focus on integrating DRL with large language models, improving robustness, safety, and interpretability, and enabling cross-scale coordination to facilitate practical deployment.

Key words: deep reinforcement learning, electric-carbon-hydrogen synergy, energy system optimization, electricity market, carbon market