Power management of a hybrid PEMFC-PV and ultracapacitor for stand-alone and grid connected applications

This paper presents the integration of photovoltaic (PV), fuel cell (FC) and energy storage systems for reliable power generation. In this system FC is used as main power source and power from PV whenever available is harvested completely with storage system compensating for power fluctuations. This topology has high efficiency, modularity and fuel flexibility. The sources in this hybrid system complement each other very well against environmental variations and load variations. Of the many storage systems the use of ultracapacitor gives advantage of absorbing and contributing to power transients quickly and efficiently. The aim of this study is to design an effective power management system for PV/FC/storage hybrid system thus to give high quality reliable power. MPPT for PV system is used for maximum power extraction. Finally the structure of hybrid system with control strategies for power management is discussed. The proposed hybrid system is modeled, simulated and verified by MATLAB/Simulink simulations for standalone and grid connected systems.