An Efficient Soft-Switching Pulsed Power Supply Converter for Hydrogen Production

Alkaline water electrolyser (AWE) has traditionally been recognized as a tested and trusted technology for the production of hydrogen. However, its widespread implementation has been hampered by comparatively low rates of hydrogen production against high capital and operational costs, making it less economically viable for large-scale consumer applications. In response to this issue, this paper presents a novel solution that utilizes a soft-switching full-bridge pulsed power supply converter to significantly improve the hydrogen production efficiency of AWE systems. A comparison of the performance of AWE under constant DC power supply and pulsed power supply clearly shows that the pulsed power approach produces significantly higher hydrogen yields. This is because of lower overvoltage losses during the process of electrolysis. Efficacy of the proposed approach is validated through rigorous MATLAB simulations, which show a significant increase in hydrogen output with energy efficiency. The proposed approach is a promising direction for improving the economic competitiveness and viability of AWE systems in the new hydrogen energy economy.