Abstract: This paper presents the modeling and simulation of a hybrid proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) with an energy storage system for use in a stand-alone distributed generation (DG) system. The simulation model consists of fuel cell DG, lead-acid battery, maximum power point tracking and power conditioning unit which is modeled in the MATLAB/Simulink platform. Poor loadfollowing characteristics and slow response to rapid load changes are some of the weaknesses of PEMFC because of the gas processing reaction and the fuel cell dynamics. To address the load-tracking issues in PEMFC, a hybrid PEMFC and battery storage system is considered and modelled. The model utilizes PEMFC as the main energy source whereas the battery functions as energy storage to compensate for the limitations of PEMFC.Simulation results are given to show the overall system performance under light and heavyloading conditions.
Abstract: Fuel cell is an emerging technology in the field
of renewable energy sources which has the capacity to replace
conventional energy generation sources. Fuel cell utilizes hydrogen
energy to produce electricity. The electricity generated by the fuel
cell can’t be directly used for a specific application as it needs
proper power conditioning. Moreover, the output power fluctuates
with different operating conditions. To get a stable output power
at an economic rate, power conditioning circuit is essential for fuel
cell. This paper implements a two-staged power conditioning unit for
fuel cell based distributed generation using hysteresis current control
technique.