Title: Power splitting strategy for solar hydrogen generation

Authors: Xin Xu Dou; Milan Simic; John Andrews; John P.T. Mo

Addresses: School of Aerospace Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, Bundoora 3083, Victoria, Australia ' School of Aerospace Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, Bundoora 3083, Victoria, Australia ' School of Aerospace Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, Bundoora 3083, Victoria, Australia ' School of Aerospace Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, Bundoora 3083, Victoria, Australia

Abstract: A standalone solar-hydrogen power generation system employing photovoltaic array and hydrogen storage of excess energy is an attractive solution for remote and portable applications. A demonstration system has been designed and built focus on an integrated load split and maximum power point tracker to meet the load and divert surplus power to produce hydrogen for storage. Key functional requirements of a control system are defined. The dynamics of PEM electrolyser is studied through experimental testing, and its response time is presented and analysed. A demonstration system designed to perform load splitting and maximum power point tracking is proposed and its performance is evaluated experimentally. The positive results lead to constructing a control system control and self-adjust voltage output which accomplish load splitting and maximum power point tracking automatically.

Keywords: solar power; power splitting; solar hydrogen generation; control systems; renewable energy; solar energy; power generation systems; photovoltaic arrays; hydrogen storage; PEM electrolyser dynamics; maximum power point tracking; MPPT; self-adjusting voltage output; load splitting.

DOI: 10.1504/IJASM.2015.068609

International Journal of Agile Systems and Management, 2015 Vol.8 No.1, pp.70 - 83

Received: 21 Mar 2014
Accepted: 13 Nov 2014
Published online: 06 Apr 2015 *

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