Improved Hydrogen-Production-Based Power Management Control of a Wind Turbine Conversion System Coupled with Multistack Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzers

Abstract

This paper deals with two main issues regarding the specific energy consumption in an electrolyzer (i.e., the Faraday efficiency and the converter topology). The first aspect is addressed using a multistack configuration of proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers supplied by a wind turbine conversion system (WTCS). This approach is based on the modeling of the wind turbine and the electrolyzers. The WTCS and the electrolyzers are interfaced through a stacked interleaved DC–DC buck converter (SIBC), due to its benefits for this application in terms of the output current ripple and reliability. This converter is controlled so that it can offer dynamic behavior that is faster than the wind turbine, avoiding overvoltage during transients, which could damage the PEM electrolyzers. The SIBC is designed to be connected in array configuration (i.e., parallel architecture), so that each converter operates at its maximum efficiency. To assess the performance of the power management strategy, experimental tests were carried out. The reported results demonstrate the correct behavior of the system during transient operation.