Modelling and Analysis of a Fuel Cell Emulator for Integration in a Hybrid Photovoltaic System Using MATLAB-Simulink

This paper details the modelling and simulation of a Fuel Cell Emulator (FCE) designed to replicate the voltage-current (V-I) characteristics of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) using a linear approximation of its three operating regions: Activation, Ohmic, and Concentration. The cost-efficient FCE, designed using power electronics circuits, is an alternative to traditional fuel cell stacks during early research stages. The power stage integrates a three-phase, two-level rectifier and a buck converter, while the control stage uses an active rectifier and buck converter control to regulate the power stage with gating pulses. The FCE emulates a 48V, 3kW PEMFC stack for varying fuel flow rates. The novelty includes integrating FCE with a solar photovoltaic (PV) system into a hybrid system to supply a 3kW DC resistive load and maintain a 400V common DC bus voltage. The system’s performance is demonstrated using MATLAB Simulink, with graphical results validating its effectiveness.