Hardware-in-the-Loop of a Grid Forming Control Strategy Applied to a DC Off-Grid Green Hydrogen Production System

Green hydrogen production has become an attractive solution to reduce the effects of climate change using renewable energy systems because it is a decarbonization vector. To produce green hydrogen efficiently from an isolated direct current microgrid, it is necessary to hybridize the system with different energy storage devices like batteries and supercapacitors to ensure continuous operation of the electrolyzer when the Photovoltaic energy source is not available. This paper presents a grid-forming control strategy applied to an isolated DC microgrid. Extensive hardware-in-the-Loop implementations are carried out under different operating conditions, showing a reliable and continuous operation. Results show that it is possible to form a DC grid that maintains the power conditions of the electrolyzer constant to maximize its utilization rate under photovoltaic power variations with the backup of battery and supercapacitor systems.