An Energy Management Strategy Considering the Economy and Lifetime of Multistack Fuel Cell Hybrid System

Due to technical limitations, it is difficult for a single-stack fuel cell (FC) system to be applied in high-power applications. Therefore, multistack FC hybrid system (MS-FCHS) is attracting more and more attention. To improve the system economy, this work proposes a real-time energy management strategy (EMS) that minimizes the system operating cost. Specifically, the proposed strategy considers not only fuel cost but also FC and battery degradation cost. Second, during the operation of MS-FCHS, the performance of each stack varies with operating conditions and time, and this work also considers the impact of inconsistent FC performance on the system lifetime. Finally, compared with the power following strategy (PF) and the hydrogen consumption minimizing strategy (H2-minimization), RT-LAB experimental results show that the proposed strategy can reduce the system operating cost by 15.85% and 9.75% and improve the system efficiency. In addition, since the system life depends on the stack with the worst service performance, the proposed strategy can also realize the convergent control of the system performance when the stacks operate in parallel, prolong the life of the system, and maintain battery state of charge (SOC) within a certain range, which is conducive to the stable operation of the system.

Automated summary

Due to technical limitations, a single-stack fuel cell (FC) system is not suitable for high-power applications, leading to the increasing attention on multistack FC hybrid system (MS-FCHS). To improve system economy, a real-time energy management strategy (EMS) is proposed, considering fuel cost, FC and battery degradation cost. The strategy also accounts for inconsistent FC performance and its impact on system lifetime. Experimental results show that the proposed strategy reduces system operating cost by 15.85% and 9.75% compared to power following strategy (PF) and hydrogen consumption minimizing strategy (H2-minimization), while improving system efficiency. The strategy also enables convergent control, prolongs system life, and maintains battery state of charge (SOC) within a certain range, ensuring stable system operation.