Hybrid auxiliary power unit (APU) for automotive applications

This paper describes the design and control requirements of an auxiliary power unit (APU) for transportation applications. The design of the APU is based on an association of supercapacitors and a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. Supercapacitors are incorporated to satisfy peak power demands in order to optimize performance of the APU and to reduce the size and therefore the cost of the fuel cell. After the system description, simulations are done to optimize the DC/DC converter between the APU components and the DC bus of the vehicle. Finally, experimental results are presented and analyzed.