A New Configuration to Mitigate Load Transients for FUEL Cell Using Electric Springs

Fuel cells are a good choice as an energy source for distributed generation and hybrid vehicles applications. One of the main problems of this technology is its slow internal electrochemical and thermodynamic response, which leads to slow response time to electrical load transients. This paper proposes a new configuration as well as a novel control strategy to solve fuel-cell slow transient response problem using AC electric springs type 1 (ES-1). In addition, it will be proven that the same configuration helps to reduce the required battery storage capacity. Simulations carried out using MATLAB/SIMULINK show the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.