PEM fuel cell modeling and converters design for a 48 V DC power bus

Power systems based on proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) technology have been the object of increasing attention in recent years as they appear very promising in both stationary and mobile applications. The output-voltage characteristic in a PEMFC is limited by the mechanical devices which are used for regulating the temperature, the humidity and their air and hydrogen flows. As a consequence, a fast load transient demand could cause a high voltage drop in a short time known as oxygen starvation phenomenon that is harmful for the FC. Therefore, batteries, ultracapacitors or other auxiliary power sources are needed to support the operation of the FC in order to ensure a fast response to any load power transient. The resulting systems, known as FC hybrid systems, can limit the slope of the current or the power generated by the FC with the use of current-controlled dc-dc converters. The purpose of this book is the design of a DC-DC converter suitable to interconnect all thedifferent elements in a PEMFC-hybrid 48-V DC bus. Since the converter could be placed between elements with very different voltage levels, a buck-boost structure has been selected.