Investigation of Hydrogen Production System-Based PEM EL: PEM EL Modeling, DC/DC Power Converter, and Controller Design Approaches

Abstract

The main component of the hydrogen production system is the electrolyzer (EL), which is used to convert electrical energy and water into hydrogen and oxygen. The power converter supplies the EL, and the controller is used to ensure the global stability and safety of the overall system. This review aims to investigate and analyze each one of these components: Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzer (PEM EL) electrical modeling, DC/DC power converters, and control approaches. To achieve this desired result, a review of the literature survey and an investigation of the PEM EL electrical modeling of the empirical and semi-empirical, including the static and dynamic models, are carried out. In addition, other sub-models used to predict the temperature, gas flow rates (H2 and O2), hydrogen pressure, and energy efficiency for PEM EL are covered. DC/DC power converters suitable for PEM EL are discussed in terms of efficiency, current ripple, voltage ratio, and their ability to operate in the case of power switch failure. This review involves analysis and investigation of PEM EL control strategies and approaches previously used to achieve control objectives, robustness, and reliability in studying the DC/DC converter-PEM electrolyzer system. The paper also highlights the online parameter identification of the PEM electrolyzer model and adaptive control issues. Finally, a discussion of the results is developed to emphasize the strengths, weaknesses, and imperfections of the literature on this subject as well as proposing ideas and challenges for future work.

Keywords

• hydrogen
• PEM electrolyzer
• DC/DC converter
• equivalent electrical model
• control strategies
• parameter identification