Towards a smart energy network: The roles of fuel/electrolysis cells and technological perspectives

•The features for a smart energy network of the future are identified.•The roles of fuel/electrolysis cells in the smart energy network are illustrated.•The visions for the deployment of EVs based on battery and fuel cell are discussed.•The future smart grid is an integration of electric grid, thermal grid and fuel grid.•The key technologies and its state-of-art for the smart energy network are reviewed.

The current carbon-based energy system is undergoing a profound change driven by the increased concerns over the longevity and security of energy supply, as well as energy-related emissions of carbon dioxide and air pollutions. The evolutionary trend of this transition is toward a smart energy network of the future that is characterized by widespread deployment of clean energy technologies and intelligent energy management technologies. In this transition, hydrogen and fuel/electrolysis cell technologies have crucial roles to play in developing the smart energy network, which is particularly captured in this work. The features of the future energy system, i.e., the smart energy network, are illustrated. In particular, the visions from technical aspects for the deployment of battery-based electric vehicles and fuel-cell-based electric vehicles are discussed. The key technologies and its current status for the smart energy network are reviewed.