APC Fuel Cell Solution for Extended Run Time UPS

Abstract

Fuel cell technology is now a viable alternative to generators and extended-run batteries, allowing IT and facility managers more flexibility in the specification, installation, and operation of critical facilities and avoids environmental issues of other sources. This paper briefly explains the use of fuel cell technology in extended runtime applications. A specific fuel cell based extended runtime system has been developed and the paper describes the major system constituents. Substantial size reductions (in terms of footprint) have been achieved compared to battery solutions.

A fuel cell uninterruptible power supply (FC-UPS) system

“…Nowadays, UPS is essential in critical applications such as IT, communication, banks, and hospitals [1]- [4]. Lead-acid or Ni-Cad batteries are the common energy storage components for traditional UPS systems.…”

“…Reference [1] investigates the utilization of FC technology in extended running time and the reduction of the size compared to the battery solution. A stand-by fuel cell USP systems is proposed [2], and stability of FC with DC/DC converter is investigated.…”

Modeling and control of power converters in UPS applications with PEM fuel cell

“…To a long-term demand with large power capacities of UPS, hydrogen systems appear as strong contenders to replace batteries, especially in grid-connected applications where reliable power supply with good quality is required, because an interruptions could last long time, e.g. over 8 hours [5,6]. However, compared with the fuel cells, lead-acid rechargeable batteries have rapid transient response with little warm up or start up time, and their specific power capability is also much higher than that of fuel cells [7].…”