Development method of Hybrid Energy Storage System, including PEM fuel cell and a battery

Development of fuel cell (FC) and hydrogen metal-hydride storage (MH) technologies continuously demonstrate higher efficiency rates and higher safety, as hydrogen is stored at low pressures of about 2 bar in a bounded state. A combination of a FC/MH system with an electrolyser, powered with a renewable source, allows creation of an almost fully autonomous power system, which could potentially replace a diesel-generator as a back-up power supply. However, the system must be extended with an electro-chemical battery to start-up the FC and compensate the electric load when FC fails to deliver the necessary power. Present paper delivers the results of experimental and theoretical investigation of a hybrid energy system, including a proton exchange membrane (PEM) FC, MH- accumulator and an electro-chemical battery, development methodology for such systems and the modelling of different battery types, using hardware-in-the-loop approach. The economic efficiency of the proposed solution is discussed using an example of power supply of a real town of Batamai in Russia. (paper)