Fuel cell/electrochemical capacitor hybrid for intermittent high power applications

A hybrid power source was demonstrated to successfully power a simulated power load encountered in portable military electronics and communications equipment. The hybrid system consisted of a 25 W proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack connected in parallel with a 70 F capacitor bank. The cyclic regime of 18.0 W for 2 min followed by 2.5 W for 18 min was chosen as the baseline for the simulation of power load. The operating potential cut-off voltage for pass/failure was set to 3.0 V. At room temperature (23–25°C), the PEMFC alone could not handle the described baseline regime with the PEMFC operating potential dropping below the cut-off voltage within 10 s. The hybrid, however, continuously powered the same regime for 25 h. Its operating potential never reached the voltage cut-off point, not even during the high load of 18.0 W. The tests with hybrid configuration were aborted after 25 h of operation with no signs of output degradation, suggesting that further extended operation was possible.     

A hybrid power source for pulse power applications

Portable 12 V power supplies are used extensively for communications and power tool applications. These devices demand fast response times of the power supply. Fuel cells are generally best suited to continuous power applications and require an initial warm-up period, although they offer the prospect of increased operational duration over a battery for a given weight of portable system. This paper investigates the combination of specific energy performance from the fuel cell system with the specific power and response time of the battery. Two separate hybrid systems have been developed and tested; a planar, 20-cell, polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack together with either a lead–acid or nickel/cadmium battery; and a conventional 20-cell, bipolar, PEMFC stack. Both systems have been tested under pulse-load conditions at temperatures between −20°C and +40°C, and for comparison, the individual components have undergone similar tests. The hybrid systems have successfully operated continuously for several weeks under load profiles that the fuel cell alone could not sustain.     

Experimental investigation on the dynamic performance of a hybrid PEM fuel cell/battery system for lightweight electric vehicle application

A hybrid system combining a 2 kW air-blowing proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack and a lead–acid battery pack is developed for a lightweight cruising vehicle. The dynamic performances of this PEMFC system with and without the assistance of the batteries are systematically investigated in a series of laboratory and road tests. The stack current and voltage have timely dynamic responses to the load variations. Particularly, the current overshoot and voltage undershoot both happen during the step-up load tests. These phenomena are closely related to the charge double-layer effect and the mass transfer mechanisms such as the water and gas transport and distribution in the fuel cell. When the external load is beyond the range of the fuel cell system, the battery immediately participates in power output with a higher transient discharging current especially in the accelerating and climbing processes. The DC–DC converter exhibits a satisfying performance in adaptive modulation. It helps rectify the voltage output in a rigid manner and prevent the fuel cell system from being overloaded. The dynamic responses of other operating parameters such as the anodic operating pressure and the inlet and outlet temperatures are also investigated. The results show that such a hybrid system is able to dynamically satisfy the vehicular power demand.     

Intelligent uninterruptible power supply system with back-up fuel cell/battery hybrid power source

This paper presents the development of an intelligent uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system with a hybrid power source that comprises a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and a battery. Attention is focused on the architecture of the UPS hybrid system and the data acquisition and control of the PEMFC. Specifically, the hybrid UPS system consists of a low-cost 60-cell 300 W PEMFC stack, a 3-cell lead–acid battery, an active power factor correction ac–dc rectifier, a half-bridge dc–ac inverter, a dc–dc converter, an ac–dc charger and their control units based on a digital signal processor TMS320F240, other integrated circuit chips, and a simple network management protocol adapter. Experimental tests and theoretical studies are conducted. First, the major parameters of the PEMFC are experimentally obtained and evaluated. Then an intelligent control strategy for the PEMFC stack is proposed and implemented. Finally, the performance of the hybrid UPS system is measured and analyzed.     

Fuel cell system with sodium borohydride as hydrogen source for unmanned aerial vehicles

In this study, we design and fabricate a fuel cell system for application as a power source in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The fuel cell system consists of a fuel cell stack, hydrogen generator, and hybrid power management system. PEMFC stack with an output power of 100 W is prepared and tested to decide the efficient operating conditions; the stack must be operated in the dead-end mode with purge in order to ensure prolonged stack performance. A hydrogen generator is fabricated to supply gaseous hydrogen to the stack. Sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) is used as the hydrogen source in the present study. Co/Al₂O₃ catalyst is prepared for the hydrolysis of the alkaline NaBH₄ solution at room temperature. The fabricated Co catalyst is comparable to the Ru catalyst. The UAV consumes more power in the takeoff mode than in the cruising mode. A hybrid power management system using an auxiliary battery is developed and evaluated for efficient energy management. Hybrid power from both the fuel cell and battery powers takeoff and turning flight operations, while the fuel cell supplies steady power during the cruising flight. The capabilities of the fuel-cell UAVs for long endurance flights are validated by successful flight tests.     

Dynamic modeling and simulation of a small wind–fuel cell hybrid energy system

This paper describes dynamic modeling and simulation results of a small wind–fuel cell hybrid energy system. The system consists of a 400 W wind turbine, a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), ultracapacitors, an electrolyzer, and a power converter. The output fluctuation of the wind turbine due to wind speed variation is reduced using a fuel cell stack. The load is supplied from the wind turbine with a fuel cell working in parallel. Excess wind energy when available is converted to hydrogen using an electrolyzer for later use in the fuel cell. Ultracapacitors and a power converter unit are proposed to minimize voltage fluctuations in the system and generate AC voltage. Dynamic modeling of various components of this small isolated system is presented. Dynamic aspects of temperature variation and double layer capacitance of the fuel cell are also included. PID type controllers are used to control the fuel cell system. SIMULINK^TM is used for the simulation of this highly nonlinear hybrid energy system. System dynamics are studied to determine the voltage variation throughout the system. Transient responses of the system to step changes in the load current and wind speed in a number of possible situations are presented. Analysis of simulation results and limitations of the wind–fuel cell hybrid energy system are discussed. The voltage variation at the output was found to be within the acceptable range. The proposed system does not need conventional battery storage. It may be used for off-grid power generation in remote communities.     

Modeling and thermal management of proton exchange membrane fuel cell for fuel cell/battery hybrid automotive vehicle

The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack is a key component in the fuel cell/battery hybrid vehicle. Thermal management and optimized control of the PEMFC under real driving cycle remains a challenging issue. This paper presents a new hybrid vehicle model, including simulations of diver behavior, vehicle dynamic, vehicle control unit, energy control unit, PEMFC stack, cooling system, battery, DC/DC converter, and motor. The stack model had been validated against experimental results. The aim is to model and analyze the characteristics of the 30 kW PEMFC stack regulated by its cooling system under actual driving conditions. Under actual driving cycles (0–65 kW/h), 33%–50% of the total energy becomes stack heat; the heat dissipation requirements of the PEMFC stack are high and increase at high speed and acceleration. A PID control is proposed; the cooling water flow rate is adjusted; the control succeeded in stabilizing the stack temperature at 350 K at actual driving conditions. Constant and relative lower inlet cooling water temperature (340 K) improves the regulation ability of the PID control. The hybrid vehicle model can provide a theoretical basis for the thermal management of the PEMFC stack in complex vehicle driving conditions.     

Control Algorithm of Fuel Cell and Batteries for Distributed Generation System

This paper intends to propose a novel control algorithm for utilizing a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) as a main power source and batteries as a complementary source, for hybrid power sources for distributed generation system, particularly for future electric vehicle applications. The control, which takes into account the slow dynamics of a fuel cell (FC) in order to avoid fuel (hydrogen and air) starvation problems, is obviously simpler than state machines used for hybrid source control. The control strategy lies in using an FC for supplying energy to battery and load at the dc bus. The structure is an FC current, battery current, and battery state-of-charge (SOC) cascade control. To validate the proposed principle, a hardware system is realized by analogical circuits for the FC current loop and numerical calculation (dSPACE) for the battery current and SOC loops. Experimental results with small-scale devices (a 500 W PEM FC and 33 Ah, 48 V lead-acid battery bank) illustrate the excellent control scheme during motor drive cycles.     

A direct borohydride–peroxide fuel cell–LiPO battery hybrid motorcycle prototype – II

In this study, a direct borohydride–peroxide fuel cell (DBPFC)–LiPo battery hybrid motorcycle, called HYBROTO, was developed. The hybrid system was designed using a 10-cell DBPFC stack with 120 W of maximum power as the main power source, a 12 LiPo battery pack with 6300 mAh and 65 C for energy storage and as auxiliary power source, and a brushless DC (BLDC) motor. In addition, a voltage-monitoring integrated circuit for fuel cells, a battery management unit, and a motor control circuit were developed to command the DBPFC, LiPo battery, and BLDC motor, respectively. The hybrid system was managed and synchronized by a main control unit (MCU) containing a synchronous bidirectional buck–boost converter and a boost converter. For performance tests, the DBPFC–battery system and BLDC motor were installed in an electric motorcycle body. Performance tests were carried out in the hybrid system under a constant load of 60 W. The hybrid system showed a satisfactory performance under the constant load with an efficiency of 67%. However, the MCU requires further improvement to provide more stable power output. The motorcycle prototype was tested at the 2016 International Symposium on Sustainable Aviation organized by the Sustainable Aviation Research Society.     

Design of an energy management technique for high endurance unmanned aerial vehicles powered by fuel and solar cell systems

A hybrid electric propulsion system with a power switching technique is tested in flights of long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle, interchanging power supply between fuel and solar cell systems. A fuel cell system consists of a sodium borohydride-based hydrogen generator, a 300 W scale proton-exchange membrane fuel-cell stack that is connected with a battery and a customized controller. The solar cell system consists of a maximum power point track device, a battery and 80 W solar arrays on each wing. These two power sources are controlled by a power switching technique using solid-state relays, which selectively permit either one of the two power sources, or both, to meet the load variation during flight. Using this method, both power sources are independently operated to deliver necessary power to satisfy the load demand, which means that it can extend flight endurance by alternating between solar and fuel cells with high-system reliability. The flight test is conducted over a period of 1.5 h to evaluate the designed hybrid power system by switching from fuel cell power to solar cell power, and vice versa, thereby proving system reliability as well as extending the operational time for flight.     

Hybrid systems with lead–acid battery and proton-exchange membrane fuel cell

Hybrid systems, based on a lead–acid battery and a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) give the possibility to combine the advantages of both technologies. The benefits for different applications are discussed and the practical realisation of such systems is shown. Furthermore a numerical model for such a hybrid system is described and results are shown and discussed. The results show that the combination of lead–acid batteries and PEMFC shows advantages in case of applications with high peak power requirements (i.e. electric scooter) and applications where the fuel cell is used as auxiliary power supply to recharge the battery. The high efficiency of fuel cells at partial load operation results in a good fuel economy for recharging of lead–acid batteries with a fuel cell system.     

A model of PEMFC-battery system to evaluate inner operating status and energy consumption under different energy management strategies

A hybrid system with jointed battery and PEMFC is popular and of great potential in New Energy Vehicle (NEV) application. However, reliability and efficiency remain to be improved for commercial products. To reflect the complicated physics inside the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), the PEMFC model consisting of inner muti-physics process and other accessories was built, then a complete hybrid system was established when a matched battery, DC/DC, regenerative braking were taken into consideration. Based on the above model, the stack state and system performance under standard cycle for heavy duty vehicle-CWTVC were obtained. According to the simulation results, fuel cell states such as pressure, water content and voltage suffers severe oscillation with external load, especially in the highway cycle. Membrane electrode assembly (MEA) suffers from pressure impact with average value of more than 24 kPa in highway cycle. In the aspect of relative humidity, the PEMFC stack is most threatened in road cycle. As for the hybrid system, its efficiency and state of charge (SOC) fluctuation perform worst in urban cycle and road cycle respectively, while its highest efficiency occurs in road test. Operating mode of fuel cell has influence on hybrid system. When 3-level mode of fuel cell output was applied, the efficiency increased to its peak value at medium level of 28 kW and then declined gradually. H₂ consumption had an opposite trend compared to efficiency. In the aspect of battery SOC, it declines in operating process and its fluctuations decreases when medium level got bigger. The 3-level mode and 4-level mode were compared using this model. It can be concluded that although 3-level mode performs slightly better in hybrid system efficiency, H₂ consumption, pressure impact, it does not have absolute advantage over 4-level mode in other indicators.     

Collaborative simulation for dynamical PEMFC power systems

In this paper a collaborative simulation platform for proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) power systems is presented, where the stack is simulated by a two-phase distributed parameter model and the auxiliary units by lumped parameter models. By exchanging the dynamic data between the external load/auxiliary units and PEMFC stack, dynamic simulation of PEMFC stack has been carried out during the load changes for various states associated with different characteristic variables. The internal states of the stack can be observed due to variation of external load/auxiliary units. Numerical experiments are provided for a special case with multiple cycles of load changes derived from an acceleration mode of a fuel cell vehicle. The numerical results demonstrate that the “undershoot” of output voltage is due to the response lag of the auxiliary units and liquid water accumulation in the fuel cell stack.     

An integrated simulation model for PEM fuel cell power systems with a buck DC-DC converter

Fuel cell powered systems generally have a high current and a low voltage. Therefore, the output voltage of the fuel cell must be stepped-down using a DC-DC buck converter. However, since the fuel cell and converter have different dynamics, they must be suitably coordinated in order to satisfy the demanded load. Accordingly, this study commences by constructing a MATLAB/Simulink model of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system comprising a PEMFC stack, an air/fuel supply system, and a temperature control system. The validity of the PEMFC model is demonstrated by comparing the simulation results obtained for the polarzation curves of a single fuel cell with the corresponding experimental curves. A model is then constructed of the DC-DC buck converter used to step-down the PEMFC output voltage. In addition, a sliding mode control (SMC) scheme is proposed for the DC-DC buck converter which guarantees a low and stable output voltage given transient variations in the output voltage of the PEMFC. Finally, a model is constructed of a DC-AC inverter with a pulse width modulated (PWM) control scheme which enables the PEMFC stack to supply the grid or power AC applications directly. Overall, the combined PEMFC/DC-DC buck converter/DC-AC inverter model provides a powerful and versatile tool for the design and development of a wide range of PEMFC power systems.     

Preliminary experimental study of the performances for a print circuit board based planar PEMFC stack

This paper presents a novel planar proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack designed for portable electronic devices, consisting of twenty homemade membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) arranged on a planar surface and three printed circuit boards (PCBs, including anode, interlayer and cathode PCBs) used to load these MEAs. The current collectors and electrical connectors are manufactured using printed circuit technology. The inlet holes of reaction gases are also machined on PCB substrates. The output performance tests are performed on the MEAs and the assembled planar PEMFC stack. The results show that the power densities of the MEAs and the planar PEMFC stack are 0.6 W/cm² and 0.361 W/cm² at rated voltage under ambient temperature and forced convection air conditions, respectively. The stability tests are also conducted on the planar PEMFC stack, and the results show no significant fluctuations in output current. The feasibility of the application of planar PEMFC stacks in portable electronic devices is preliminarily demonstrated, and the improvement directions for further improving the output performance are proposed accordingly.     

Comparison between two PEM fuel cell durability tests performed at constant current and under solicitations linked to transport mission profile

The first phase of a research program on PEMFC durability was devoted to the test of a 100 W stack operated in stationary regime during 1000 h. The second phase was dedicated to the test of another 100 W stack under dynamical current constraint. In this case, the load current cycle applied was computed from a standardised transportation mission profile and then adapted to the power of the investigated fuel cell. For both ageing experiments, the stack characterisations were based on polarisation curves, recorded for various stoichiometry rates, as well as on EIS measurements performed at regular time-spaced intervals throughout the ageing. Some analysis tools derived from the response surface methodology are employed to analyse and compare the results of the two durability experiments. Some numerical models are proposed for the degradation of the stack performances. They are finally used to optimise the fuel cell operating conditions versus ageing time.     

Demonstration and assessment of dynamic performance of a hybrid power system based electric passenger cart

Fuel cell (FC) technology is showing excellent promise for many applications ranging from portable devices to vehicular systems. A stand-alone FC may not always satisfy the fast and transient load demands of a vehicular power system. As a result, FC units are usually hybridized with supplementary sources to meet the total power demand of the vehicle. In this paper, the energy demands of a light vehicle (a passenger cart) is developed using a hybrid power supply system involving a photovoltaic (PV) panel, a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and a battery based energy storage system (ESS). In addition, the details of the physical construction of the modified hybrid cart are given. The most critical feature of an energy management strategy for a multiple-source based hybrid vehicle is the sharing of fast and transient load demands among the available power sources. For this purpose, a 300-s drive cycle is created in this paper to test the effectiveness of the load sharing strategy between FC, battery pack and PV panel. It is found that PEMFC dominates slow and moderate dynamic behaviors of the vehicle, while fast response of the battery group governs the rapid dynamic behaviors. The results also show that the integrating PV panel contributes noticeably to the dynamic behaviors of the system. Furthermore, a control-oriented simulation model for a PEMFC unit is verified with experimental data to test the success of the proposed technique.     

Road testing of a three-wheeler driven by a 5 kW PEM fuel cell in the absence and presence of batteries

The road testing and demonstration of a three-wheeler vehicle driven by a 5 kW proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) was carried out in the absence and presence of lead acid batteries. Prior to integrating the PEMFC module and batteries in the three-wheeler, they were tested and demonstrated separately. The PEMFC module had a very fast response as the load was manually or, especially, automatically changed and it could supply a continuous power when the reactant was supplied continuously. In contrast, the 5 kW lead acid batteries alone could supply power for no longer than 300 s. In the presence of both the PEMFC module and batteries, when the drawing power was in the range of the PEMFC module capacity the propulsion motor gained its energy from the PEMFC module only, whilst the stack power output at all conditions was greater than the setting power of approximately 400 W. After integrating the PEMFC module and batteries into the three-wheeler, both energy sources were found to power the vehicle effectively. The motor power as well as the stack power changed as a linear proportion to the throttle. The motor consumed more power in case of high speed driving, take off or hill climbing, while it used only 0.354 kW in the absence of throttle. The hybrid system can achieve a maximum speed in this three-wheeler of around 24.9 km/h with a hydrogen consumption of 11 g H₂/km (71 g H₂/kWh) and an operating cost of 1.99 USD/km. The thermodynamic efficiency of the vehicle was 42.9%.     

Comprehensive influences measurement and analysis of power converter low frequency current ripple on PEM fuel cell

To deeply understand the influences of power converter's low frequency current ripple (LFCR) and harmonics on a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) in its power conditioning system (PCS), a comprehensive measurement and analysis of the influences of LFCR and harmonics on PEMFC's performance and durability is investigated in this paper. Based on an equivalent circuit model of PEMFC stack and a mechanism model for evaluating the LFCR effects on the PEMFC, this paper studies primarily and systematically the comprehensive influences of LFCR and harmonics on PEMFC performances and durability, such as (1) degrading the PEMFC performance, (2) shortening the lifetime of PEMFC, (3) reducing the stack output power, (4) lowing its availability efficiency, (5) producing more heat and raising the PEMFC temperature, (6) consuming more fuel, and (7) decreasing the fuel utilization. Finally, a Horizon 300 W PEMFC stack is implemented and tested.