IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v14y2021i3p688-d489196.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Grid-Tied Fuel Cell Multilevel Inverter with Low Harmonic Distortions

Author

Listed:
  • Khlid Ben Hamad

    (Department of Electrical Electronic and Computer Engineering, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, P.O. Box 1906, Bellville Cape Town 7535, South Africa)

  • Doudou N. Luta

    (Department of Electrical Electronic and Computer Engineering, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, P.O. Box 1906, Bellville Cape Town 7535, South Africa)

  • Atanda K. Raji

    (Department of Electrical Electronic and Computer Engineering, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, P.O. Box 1906, Bellville Cape Town 7535, South Africa)

Abstract

As a result of global energy demand increase, concerns over global warming, and rapid exhaustion of fossil fuels, there is a growing interest in energy system dependence on clean and sustainable energy resources. Attractive power technologies include photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, and biomass power. Fuel cells are also clean energy units that substitute power generators based on fossil fuels. They are employed in various applications, including transportation, stationary power, and small portable power. Fuel cell connections to utility grids require that the power conditioning units, interfacing the fuel cells and the grids, operate accordingly (by complying with the grid requirements). This study aims to model a centralised, single-stage grid-tied three-level diode clamped inverter interfacing a multi-stack fuel cell system. The inverter is expected to produce harmonic distortions of less than 0.5% and achieve an efficiency of 85%. Besides the grid, the system consists of a 1.54 MW/1400 V DC proton exchange membrane fuel cell, a 1.3 MW three-level diode clamped inverter with a nominal voltage of 600 V, and an inductance-capacitance-inductance (LCL) filter. Two case studies based on the load conditions are considered to assess the developed system’s performance further. In case 1, the fuel cell system generates enough power to fully meet this load and exports the excess to the grid. In the other case, a load of 2.5 MW was connected at the grid-tied fuel cell inverter’s output terminals. The system imports the grid’s power to meet the 2.5 MW load since the fuel cell can only produce 1.54 MW. It is demonstrated that the system can supply and also receive power from the grid. The results show the developed system’s good performance with a low total harmonic distortion of about 0.12% for the voltage and 0.07% for the current. The results also reveal that the fuel cell inverter voltage and the frequency at the point of common coupling comply with the grid requirements.

Suggested Citation

  • Khlid Ben Hamad & Doudou N. Luta & Atanda K. Raji, 2021. "A Grid-Tied Fuel Cell Multilevel Inverter with Low Harmonic Distortions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-24, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:3:p:688-:d:489196
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/3/688/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/3/688/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Seyed Mehdi Hakimi & Amin Hajizadeh, 2018. "Integration of Photovoltaic Power Units to Power Distribution System through Modular Multilevel Converter," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-13, October.
    2. Shivashankar Sukumar & Marayati Marsadek & Agileswari Ramasamy & Hazlie Mokhlis & Saad Mekhilef, 2017. "A Fuzzy-Based PI Controller for Power Management of a Grid-Connected PV-SOFC Hybrid System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-17, October.
    3. Bartosz Ceran & Agata Orłowska, 2019. "The Impact of Power Source Performance Decrease in a PV/WT/FC Hybrid Power Generation System on the Result of a Multi-Criteria Analysis of Load Distribution," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-19, September.
    4. Arwindra Rizqiawan & Pradita Hadi & Goro Fujita, 2019. "Development of Grid-Connected Inverter Experiment Modules for Microgrid Learning," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-16, February.
    5. Wajahat Ullah Khan Tareen & Muhammad Aamir & Saad Mekhilef & Mutsuo Nakaoka & Mehdi Seyedmahmoudian & Ben Horan & Mudasir Ahmed Memon & Nauman Anwar Baig, 2018. "Mitigation of Power Quality Issues Due to High Penetration of Renewable Energy Sources in Electric Grid Systems Using Three-Phase APF/STATCOM Technologies: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-41, June.
    6. Mohammed Yousri Silaa & Mohamed Derbeli & Oscar Barambones & Ali Cheknane, 2020. "Design and Implementation of High Order Sliding Mode Control for PEMFC Power System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-15, August.
    7. Yun Zhang & Jilong Shi & Chuanzhi Fu & Wei Zhang & Ping Wang & Jing Li & Mark Sumner, 2018. "An Enhanced Hybrid Switching-Frequency Modulation Strategy for Fuel Cell Vehicle Three-Level DC-DC Converters with Quasi-Z Source," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-16, April.
    8. Doudou N. Luta & Atanda K. Raji, 2019. "Fuzzy Rule-Based and Particle Swarm Optimisation MPPT Techniques for a Fuel Cell Stack," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-15, March.
    9. Çelik, Özgür & Teke, Ahmet & Tan, Adnan, 2018. "Overview of micro-inverters as a challenging technology in photovoltaic applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 3191-3206.
    10. Imran Khan & Kamran Zeb & Waqar Ud Din & Saif Ul Islam & Muhammad Ishfaq & Sadam Hussain & Hee-Je Kim, 2019. "Dynamic Modeling and Robust Controllers Design for Doubly Fed Induction Generator-Based Wind Turbines under Unbalanced Grid Fault Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-23, January.
    11. Luta, Doudou N. & Raji, Atanda K., 2019. "Optimal sizing of hybrid fuel cell-supercapacitor storage system for off-grid renewable applications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 530-540.
    12. Majlan, E.H. & Rohendi, D. & Daud, W.R.W. & Husaini, T. & Haque, M.A., 2018. "Electrode for proton exchange membrane fuel cells: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 117-134.
    13. Mahlooji, Mohammad Hossein & Mohammadi, Hamid Reza & Rahimi, Mohsen, 2018. "A review on modeling and control of grid-connected photovoltaic inverters with LCL filter," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 563-578.
    14. Borislava Spasova & Daisuke Kawamoto & Yoshiyasu Takefuji, 2019. "A Study of Fuel Cell Scheduling Effect on Local Energy Markets with Heterogeneous Renewable Sources," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-14, March.
    15. Behrouzi, Fatemeh & Nakisa, Mehdi & Maimun, Adi & Ahmed, Yasser M., 2016. "Global renewable energy and its potential in Malaysia: A review of Hydrokinetic turbine technology," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1270-1281.
    16. Taner, Tolga, 2018. "Energy and exergy analyze of PEM fuel cell: A case study of modeling and simulations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 284-294.
    17. Naik, M. Venkatesh & Samuel, Paulson, 2016. "Analysis of ripple current, power losses and high efficiency of DC–DC converters for fuel cell power generating systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 1080-1088.
    18. Ali, Zunaib & Christofides, Nicholas & Hadjidemetriou, Lenos & Kyriakides, Elias & Yang, Yongheng & Blaabjerg, Frede, 2018. "Three-phase phase-locked loop synchronization algorithms for grid-connected renewable energy systems: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 434-452.
    19. Nicu Bizon & Mircea Raceanu & Emmanouel Koudoumas & Adriana Marinoiu & Emmanuel Karapidakis & Elena Carcadea, 2020. "Renewable/Fuel Cell Hybrid Power System Operation Using Two Search Controllers of the Optimal Power Needed on the DC Bus," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-26, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Grzegorz Ostasz & Dominika Siwiec & Andrzej Pacana, 2022. "Universal Model to Predict Expected Direction of Products Quality Improvement," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-18, February.
    2. Ladislas Mutunda Kangaji & Lagouge Tartibu & Pitshou N. Bokoro, 2023. "Modelling and Performance Analysis of a Tidal Current Turbine Connected to the Grid Using an Inductance (LCL) Filter," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-23, August.
    3. Andrzej Straś & Bartłomiej Ufnalski & Arkadiusz Kaszewski, 2023. "Design of a Repetitive Control for a Three-Phase Grid-Tied Converter under Distorted Grid Voltage Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-17, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mohamed Derbeli & Asma Charaabi & Oscar Barambones & Cristian Napole, 2021. "High-Performance Tracking for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell System PEMFC Using Model Predictive Control," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-17, May.
    2. Nicu Bizon & Mircea Raceanu & Emmanouel Koudoumas & Adriana Marinoiu & Emmanuel Karapidakis & Elena Carcadea, 2020. "Renewable/Fuel Cell Hybrid Power System Operation Using Two Search Controllers of the Optimal Power Needed on the DC Bus," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-26, November.
    3. Mohamed Derbeli & Oscar Barambones & Jose Antonio Ramos-Hernanz & Lassaad Sbita, 2019. "Real-Time Implementation of a Super Twisting Algorithm for PEM Fuel Cell Power System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-20, April.
    4. Muhammad Majid Gulzar, 2023. "Maximum Power Point Tracking of a Grid Connected PV Based Fuel Cell System Using Optimal Control Technique," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-18, February.
    5. Teuvo Suntio & Tuomas Messo, 2019. "Power Electronics in Renewable Energy Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-5, May.
    6. Rezk, Hegazy & AL-Oran, Mazen & Gomaa, Mohamed R. & Tolba, Mohamed A. & Fathy, Ahmed & Abdelkareem, Mohammad Ali & Olabi, A.G. & El-Sayed, Abou Hashema M., 2019. "A novel statistical performance evaluation of most modern optimization-based global MPPT techniques for partially shaded PV system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    7. Jihed Hmad & Azeddine Houari & Allal El Moubarek Bouzid & Abdelhakim Saim & Hafedh Trabelsi, 2023. "A Review on Mode Transition Strategies between Grid-Connected and Standalone Operation of Voltage Source Inverters-Based Microgrids," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-41, June.
    8. Bekker, A. & Van Dijk, M. & Niebuhr, C.M., 2022. "A review of low head hydropower at wastewater treatment works and development of an evaluation framework for South Africa," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    9. Bai, Jiayu & Wei, Wei & Chen, Laijun & Mei, Shengwei, 2020. "Modeling and dispatch of advanced adiabatic compressed air energy storage under wide operating range in distribution systems with renewable generation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    10. Khan, Mohd Atiqueuzzaman & Ngo, Huu Hao & Guo, Wenshan & Liu, Yiwen & Zhang, Xinbo & Guo, Jianbo & Chang, Soon Woong & Nguyen, Dinh Duc & Wang, Jie, 2018. "Biohydrogen production from anaerobic digestion and its potential as renewable energy," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 129(PB), pages 754-768.
    11. Hu, Lin & Hu, Xiaosong & Che, Yunhong & Feng, Fei & Lin, Xianke & Zhang, Zhiyong, 2020. "Reliable state of charge estimation of battery packs using fuzzy adaptive federated filtering," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    12. Tiam Kapen, Pascalin & Jeutho Gouajio, Marinette & Yemélé, David, 2020. "Analysis and efficient comparison of ten numerical methods in estimating Weibull parameters for wind energy potential: Application to the city of Bafoussam, Cameroon," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 1188-1198.
    13. Amir, Asim & Amir, Aamir & Che, Hang Seng & Elkhateb, Ahmad & Rahim, Nasrudin Abd, 2019. "Comparative analysis of high voltage gain DC-DC converter topologies for photovoltaic systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 1147-1163.
    14. Pedrayes, Joaquín F. & Melero, Manuel G. & Cano, Jose M. & Norniella, Joaquín G. & Duque, Salvador B. & Rojas, Carlos H. & Orcajo, Gonzalo A., 2021. "Lambert W function based closed-form expressions of supercapacitor electrical variables in constant power applications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    15. Hafiz, Faeza & Rodrigo de Queiroz, Anderson & Fajri, Poria & Husain, Iqbal, 2019. "Energy management and optimal storage sizing for a shared community: A multi-stage stochastic programming approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 42-54.
    16. Tan, Qinxue & Fan, Kangqi & Tao, Kai & Zhao, Liya & Cai, Meiling, 2020. "A two-degree-of-freedom string-driven rotor for efficient energy harvesting from ultra-low frequency excitations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    17. Li, Chong & Zhou, Dequn & Wang, Hui & Lu, Yuzheng & Li, Dongdong, 2020. "Techno-economic performance study of stand-alone wind/diesel/battery hybrid system with different battery technologies in the cold region of China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    18. Tzelepis, Stefanos & Kavadias, Kosmas A. & Marnellos, George E. & Xydis, George, 2021. "A review study on proton exchange membrane fuel cell electrochemical performance focusing on anode and cathode catalyst layer modelling at macroscopic level," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    19. Jahangiri, Mehdi & Rezaei, Mostafa & Mostafaeipour, Ali & Goojani, Afsaneh Raiesi & Saghaei, Hamed & Hosseini Dehshiri, Seyyed Jalaladdin & Hosseini Dehshiri, Seyyed Shahabaddin, 2022. "Prioritization of solar electricity and hydrogen co-production stations considering PV losses and different types of solar trackers: A TOPSIS approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 889-903.
    20. Muhammad Awais & Laiq Khan & Saghir Ahmad & Mohsin Jamil, 2021. "Feedback-Linearization-Based Fuel-Cell Adaptive-Control Paradigm in a Microgrid Using a Wavelet-Entrenched NeuroFuzzy Framework," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-17, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:3:p:688-:d:489196. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.