Experimental Study of Hybrid Photovoltaic-PEM Electrolyzer-PEM Fuel Cell System

Hydrogen can be considered as clean energy carrier utilized as fuel in fuel cells. From an environmental friendly point of view, hydrogen production via water electrolysis powered by solar electric energy from photovoltaic (PV) panels without emitting carbon dioxide is a promising approach. A proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) can usually be used to generate electricity for supplying residences and electric vehicles. In this study, the hydrogen production via water electrolyzer using electrical energy from solar PV panels and the electricity generation using PEMFC were experimentally investigated. Moreover, the efficiency of this hybrid system comprised of PV, electrolyzer, and PEMFC was determined. The results showed the overall system efficiency between 1.75% and 7.66% at the current density between 0.115 and 0.005 A/cm
²
.