A Tiered Control Strategy for Energy Management in PEMFC Hybrid Systems for Distributed Power and Vehicle Applications

This paper presents an optimized energy configuration using a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) as the primary power source, paired with a battery and supercapacitor for storage. This hybrid system, designed for modern distributed generation and next-gen fuel cell vehicles, achieves energy balance through DC bus voltage regulation. The supercapacitor, with high power density and fast response, stabilizes the DC bus voltage, while the battery, valued for its high energy density, continually recharges the supercapacitor. The fuel cell, with a slower response, ensures the battery remains charged. This setup features three voltage control loops: the supercapacitor manages the DC bus voltage, the battery maintains the supercapacitor voltage, and the fuel cell sustains the battery voltage.