Modeling, Control and Simulation of a Small Photovoltaic Fuel Cell Hybrid Generation System

Abstract

This paper describes a combination of photovoltaic (PV) and fuell cell (FC) hybrid energy system for stationary applications. The system includes solar panels and a FC system working in parallel, an electrolyzer system, power manager unit and storage tanks for the compressed hydrogen. In this hybrid energy system, if the solar radiation level is high enough, the PV array powers the load and the excess power is stored in hydrogen by the electrolyzer. Otherwise, the fuel cell is switched on to generate electricity to complement any shortfall in solar radiation. The model is developed and applied in the MATLAB®, Simulink® and Meteonorm® environment, based on the mathematical and electrical models developed for the proposed system.