Simple Optimum Energy Management Control System for Small Fuel Cell Vehicle Regarding Remaining Hydrogen and Distance to Destination

There are currently not so many Hydrogen re-fueling stations available for fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), so there is range anxiety - the concern about reaching a re-fueling station before the tank is empty. It is proposed to implement a simple optimum energy management control system for small FCVs in order to address this concern. A one person electric vehicle with a 1kW fuel cell has been developed for university education purposes. The proposed control algorithm for this vehicle periodically determines the optimum cruising velocity, based on the remaining Hydrogen fuel volume and the distance to the destination. The FCV must be able to reach its destination before consuming all of its Hydrogen fuel. This paper will introduce the concept of the optimum energy management control for FCVs; the calculation algorithm for the optimum cruising velocity; and the running simulation results.