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This paper describes a novel energy management system for the optimized operation of the energy sources of a grid-connected hybrid renewable energy system (wind turbine and photovoltaic) with battery and hydrogen system (fuel cell and electrolyzer). A multi-objective optimization problem based on the weight aggregation approach is formulated by combining three objective functions (operating costs, efficiency and lifetime of the devices) that can conflict with each. The multi-objective function to be optimized by the energy management system is obtained by solving the problem for all the possible cases. Then, the weights that provide the minimum value of the multi-objective function are selected. As the results demonstrate, the multi-objective function becomes a single-objective function that differs according to the net power (power to be generated by/stored in the energy storage devices) and has to be solved in the energy management system of the hybrid system. It simplifies considerably the multi-objective problem implemented in the energy management system, while taking into account the three control objectives that can conflict with each other, which is the main contribution of this paper. This optimal energy management system is solved using the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) method, tested by simulations of the hybrid power generation system throughout 25 years (the expected lifetime of the system), and compared with the results obtained by the energy management systems based on optimizing each single-objective function separately, and by that based on optimizing the multi-objective function combining the three single-objective functions equally weighted. The results demonstrate that this energy management system achieves reasonable operating costs, efficiency and degradation of the devices.

The continuous progress on the expansion of renewable energies leads to the development of hybrid power systems, where several power sources contribute to provide a clean and reliable alternative to traditional fossil fuels. The hydrogen technology is viewed with particular interest in this regard. Hydrogen is an outstanding energy carrier that can be exploited for various applications, including electricity generation. Hence, production of hydrogen from renewable sources has received the attention of many researchers lately. With this purpose, this paper deals with the coupled operation of electrolyzer (EZ) and wind turbine. Four different EZ models are presented and evaluated in this work. These models are aggregated to a variable speed wind turbine model using MATLAB/Simulink. The four configurations are evaluated, and their responses compared, under variable wind speed and grid demand.

This paper presents and evaluates three energy management systems (EMSs) based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) for long-term operation optimization of a grid-connected hybrid system. It is composed of wind turbine (WT) and photovoltaic (PV) panels as primary energy sources, and hydrogen system (fuel cell –FC–, electrolyzer and hydrogen storage tank) and battery as energy storage system (ESS). The EMSs are responsible for making the hybrid system produce the demanded power, deciding on the energy dispatch among the ESS devices. The first PSO-based EMS tries to minimize the ESS utilization costs, the second one to maximize the ESS efficiency, and the third one to optimize the lifetime of the ESS devices. Long-term simulations of 25 years (expected lifetime of the hybrid system) are shown in order to demonstrate the right performance of the three EMSs and their differences. The simulations show that: 1) each EMS outperforms the others in the designed target; and 2) the third EMS is considered the best EMS, because it needs the least ESS devices, and presents the lowest total acquisition cost of hybrid system, whereas the rest of parameters are similar to the best values obtained by the other EMSs.

Fuel cell (FC) is an efficient energy conversion technology that is growing rapidly and will have a significant role to play in a number of energy end-use sectors, from small-scale applications to large-scale power plants. In this paper, two new methods for voltage harmonic compensation of a stand-alone single phase inverted-based FC are presented and evaluated. The stand-alone power system under study consists of: 1) Proton-Exchange-Membrane (PEM) FC with unidirectional DC/DC converter, which converts the DC voltage delivered by the FC to the DC bus voltage; 2) single-phase pulse width modulated (PWM) inverter; 3) transformer; 4) passive filter; and 5) linear and non-linear loads. The dynamic model of this system and the non-sinusoidal output-based controls applied to the PWM inverter for voltage regulation and harmonic compensation are detailed in this paper, and evaluated by simulation under different linear and non-linear loads. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the two purposed methods for voltage harmonic compensation to acceptable levels defined in grid codes.

This paper presents a novel hourly energy management system (EMS) for a stand-alone hybrid renewable energy system (HRES). The HRES is composed of a wind turbine (WT) and photovoltaic (PV) solar panels as primary energy sources, and two energy storage systems (ESS), which are a hydrogen subsystem and a battery. The WT and PV panels are made to work at maximum power point, whereas the battery and the hydrogen subsystem, which is composed of fuel cell (FC), electrolyzer and hydrogen storage tank, act as support and storage system. The EMS uses a fuzzy logic control to satisfy the energy demanded by the load and maintain the state-of-charge (SOC) of the battery and the hydrogen tank level between certain target margins, while trying to optimize the utilization cost and lifetime of the ESS. Commercial available components and an expected life of the HRES of 25 years were considered in this study. Simulation results show that the proposed control meets the objectives established for the EMS of the HRES, and achieves a total cost saving of 13% over other simpler EMS based on control states presented in this paper.

This paper presents a sizing method and different control strategies for the suitable energy management of a stand-alone hybrid system based on photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, hydrogen subsystem and battery. The battery and hydrogen subsystem, which is composed of fuel cell (FC), electrolyzer and hydrogen storage tank, act as energy storage and support system. In order to efficiently utilize the energy sources integrated in the hybrid system, an appropriate sizing is necessary. In this paper, a new sizing method based on Simulink Design Optimization (SDO) of MATLAB was used to perform a technical optimization of the hybrid system components. An analysis cost has been also performed, in that the configuration under study has been compared with those integrating only batteries and only hydrogen system. The dynamic model of the designed hybrid system is detailed in this paper. The models, implemented in MATLAB-Simulink environment, have been designed from commercially available components. Three control strategies based on operating modes and combining technical-economic aspects are considered for the energy management of the hybrid system. They have been designed, primarily, to satisfy the load power demand and, secondarily, to maintain a certain level at the hydrogen tank (hydrogen energy reserve), and at the state of charge (SOC) of the battery bank to extend its life, taking into account also technical-economic analysis. Dynamic simulations were performed to evaluate the configuration, sizing and control strategies for the energy management of the hybrid system under study in this work. Simulation results show that the proposed hybrid system with the presented controls is able to provide the energy demanded by the loads, while maintaining a certain energy reserve in the storage sources.

This paper evaluates the option of using a new powertrain based on fuel cell (FC), battery and supercapacitor (SC) for the Urbos 3 tramway in Zaragoza, Spain. In the proposed powertrain configuration, a hydrogen Proton-Exchange-Membrane (PEM) FC acts as main energy source, and a Li-ion battery and a SC as energy support and storage systems. The battery supports the FC during the starting and accelerations, and furthermore, it absorbs the power generated during the regenerative braking. Otherwise, the SC, which presents the fastest dynamic response, acts mainly during power peaks, which are beyond the operating range of the FC and battery. The FC, battery and SC use a DC/DC converter to connect each energy source to the DC bus and to control the energy exchange. This configuration would allow the tramway to operate in an autonomous way without grid connection. The components of the hybrid tramway, selected from commercially available devices have been modeled in MATLAB-Simulink. The energy management system used for controlling the components of the new hybrid system allows optimizing the fuel consumption (hydrogen) by applying an equivalent consumption minimization strategy. This control system is evaluated by simulations for the real driving cycle of the tramway. The results show that the proposed control system is valid for its application to this hybrid system.

This paper presents a comparative study of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell (FC) models for integration in hybrid propulsion systems, based on a commercial FC from Nuvera, which is especially manufactured for this application. An existing model is used as a reference in order to build dynamical mathematical models which describe its dynamical behavior in the time domain. These mathematical models are obtained by applying system identification techniques to the reference model. The proposed FC models have been tested through simulations for the real drive cycle of the existing Metro Centro tramway in Seville.

This paper describes a comparative study of two control schemes for the energy management system of a hybrid tramway powered by a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell (FC) and an Ni-MH battery. The hybrid system was designed for a real surface tramway of 400 kW. It is composed of a PEM FC system with a unidirectional dc/dc boost converter (FC converter) and a rechargeable Ni-MH battery with a bidirectional dc/dc converter (battery converter), both of which are coupled to a traction dc bus. The PEM FC and Ni-MH battery models were designed from commercially available components. The function of the two control architectures was to effectively distribute the power of the electrical sources. One of these control architectures was a state machine control strategy, based on eight states. The other was a cascade control strategy which was used to validate the results obtained. The simulation results for the real driving cycle of the tramway reflected the optimal performance of the control systems compared in this study.