Control and management of a fuel cell microgrid. Energy efficiency optimization

Abstract

Increasing the efficiency of energy conversion systems is a relevant aspect to decrease the oil dependence and to minimize environmental impact. Considering the inherent characteristics of the PEM fuel cells, this paper proposes a control algorithm for a microgrid consisting of two fuel cells, in order to improve its energy efficiency. To do this, hardware responsible for managing the microgrid has been designed and implemented and the proposed control algorithm has been applied. Various tests have been performed on the microgrid, analysing its behaviour in each case.