SMART ENERGY MANAGEMENT OF HYBRID FUEL CELL –BATTERY STORAGE FOR RENEWABLE-POWERED EV CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE

Abstract

With the increasing uptake of EVs, there is a strong need for dependable, efficient, and environmentally friendly charging stations. Typically, traditional charging stations are powered by the electricity grid, which may face several problems, including electricity volatility, voltage problems, carbon emissions, and peak load stress. This project aims to tackle these challenges by designing a decentralized hybrid energy management system for a grid-interactive EV charging station, which incorporates PV generation, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC), and utility grid support. The proposed architecture is based on a common DC bus configuration which enables an efficient transfer of power between different energy sources and allows for continued charging services.Adaptive energy management strategy, which is based on Line Resistance Corrected Droop Control (LRCD), is used to enable distributed energy resource power sharing coordination. PV is the main renewable energy, batteries are used for fast response to transient load fluctuations and fuel cells are used for long duration energy support when renewable energy generation is low. To improve battery life, reduce component stress and improve overall system performance, battery management and fuel cell efficiency optimization based on the State of Charge (SoC) are built in. The charging station can operate in both grid connected and islanded mode to increase system reliability and resilience when there are disturbances in the grid. The simulation and performance analyses reveal the stable DC bus voltage within the specified limits, accurate power sharing, utilization of renewable energy sources, reduction in the dependency on grid, low harmonic distortion and near unity power factor operation. The proposed hybrid charging system is a scalable, reliable and environmental friendly approach to future smart charging system and large scale transportation electrification.