Examination of the grid-connected polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell's electrical behaviour and control

Fuel cells (FCs) are considered as one of the most promising sources of electrical energy that can meet environmental constraints. One of the important steps to ensure clean energy is seamless power transfer from the FC to the grid. In this study, the behaviour of the FC under AC load and grid connection of FC system is simulated. Required interface for FCs' grid connection is performed with PSCAD software. For this purpose, polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) FC model is developed in PSCAD software. Power converter units are designed to supply DC and AC loads. Control structures are developed for DC-DC converter and DC-AC inverter models in PSCAD. Power conditioning units are separately controlled by proportional-integral controller. The electrical behaviour and control of FCs are investigated and simulated using PSCAD software. Then a developed PEM FC system model is tested for AC load conditions. The PEM FC system is connected to grid and the behaviours of grid connected FC system are examined.