Comparative study of control approaches of Li-Ion battery/supercapacitor storage devices for fuel cell power plant

This study presents energy management approaches for a fuel cell (FC) power plant for autonomous system applications. Two storage devices (supercapacitor (SC) and Li-ion battery) are used in the proposed structure. Linear proportional-integral (PI) and nonlinear flatness-based controllers for dc bus stabilization for power plants are compared. Experimental results with small-scale devices [namely, a PEMFC (1200 W, 46 A), a Li-ion battery module (11.6 Ah, 24 V), and a supercapacitor bank (100 F, 25 V)] illustrate the excellent energy-management scheme during motor drive cycles.