Hybrid PV/FC System Design and Simulation

as the power generated by a Photovoltaic (PV) system is affected by the weather conditions, there must be storage units to store and deliver energy as per customer needs. One of the potential solutions to this issue is the integration of the PV generator with electrolytic hydrogen and fuel cell (FC). This paper proposes a hybrid-power system that combines a PV generator, Proton-Exchange-Membrane FC, Electrolyzes (ELZ) and hydrogen tanks to serve as energy storage. Depending on the amount of solar radiation, two approaches of connecting the PV generator and FCs are implemented. In the first approach, the FC acts like a backup for the PV system while with the second approach, a hybrid PV-FC generation system is employed. A model of the (ELZ) is implemented in order to simulate the production and storing of hydrogen. The operation of the fuel cell is simulated and analyzed using Matlab/Simulink where many of the encountered problems were solved. The simulation results of the proposed system prove that it can efficiently solve the intermittent nature of the PV energy systems while preserving the environment.