The negative environmental impact and the rapidly declining reserve of fossil fuel-based energy sources for electricity generation is a big challenge to finding sustainable alternatives. This scenario is complicated by the ever-increasing world population growth demanding a higher standard of living. A fuel cell system is able to generate electricity and water with higher energy efficiency while producing near-zero emissions. A common fuel cell stack displays a nonlinear power characteristic as a result of internal limitations and operating parameters such as temperature, hydrogen and oxygen partial pressures and humidity levels, leading to a reduced overall system performance. It is therefore important to extract as much power as possible from the stack, thus hindering excessive fuel use. This study considers and compares two Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) approaches; one based on the Mamdani Fuzzy Inference System and the other on the Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) algorithm to maintain the output power of a fuel cell stack extremely close to its maximum. To ensure that, the power converter interfaced to the fuel cell unit must be able to continuously self-modify its parameters, hence changing its voltage and current depending upon the Maximum Power Point position. While various methods exist for Maximum Power Point tracker design, this paper analyses the response characteristics of a Mamdani Fuzzy Inference Engine and the Particle Swarm Optimisation technique. The investigation was conducted on a 53 kW Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell interfaced to a DC-to-DC boost converter supplying 1.2 kV from a 625 V input DC voltage. The modelling was accomplished using a Matlab/Simulink environment. The results showed that the MPPT controller based on the PSO algorithm presented better tracking efficiency as compared to the Mamdani controller. Furthermore, the rise time of the PSO controller was slightly shorter than the Mamdani controller and the overshoot of the PSO controller was 2% lower than that of the Mamdani controller.

As a result of global energy demand increase, concerns over global warming, and rapid exhaustion of fossil fuels, there is a growing interest in energy system dependence on clean and sustainable energy resources. Attractive power technologies include photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, and biomass power. Fuel cells are also clean energy units that substitute power generators based on fossil fuels. They are employed in various applications, including transportation, stationary power, and small portable power. Fuel cell connections to utility grids require that the power conditioning units, interfacing the fuel cells and the grids, operate accordingly (by complying with the grid requirements). This study aims to model a centralised, single-stage grid-tied three-level diode clamped inverter interfacing a multi-stack fuel cell system. The inverter is expected to produce harmonic distortions of less than 0.5% and achieve an efficiency of 85%. Besides the grid, the system consists of a 1.54 MW/1400 V DC proton exchange membrane fuel cell, a 1.3 MW three-level diode clamped inverter with a nominal voltage of 600 V, and an inductance-capacitance-inductance (LCL) filter. Two case studies based on the load conditions are considered to assess the developed system’s performance further. In case 1, the fuel cell system generates enough power to fully meet this load and exports the excess to the grid. In the other case, a load of 2.5 MW was connected at the grid-tied fuel cell inverter’s output terminals. The system imports the grid’s power to meet the 2.5 MW load since the fuel cell can only produce 1.54 MW. It is demonstrated that the system can supply and also receive power from the grid. The results show the developed system’s good performance with a low total harmonic distortion of about 0.12% for the voltage and 0.07% for the current. The results also reveal that the fuel cell inverter voltage and the frequency at the point of common coupling comply with the grid requirements.

This study presents the design of a phase-shifted DC-DC series-parallel full bridge resonant converter (PSFB-LLC) for battery charger application. The proposed converter is controlled by phase-shift pulse width modulation that switches the full bridge inverter connected with a resonant tank; it is equipped with an isolated transformer (high frequency) and backed with a battery for energy transfer and for achieving zero current switching (ZCS) at all the primary active switches. The magnetizing inductance was implemented in parallel with the phase-shifted angle to improve the capacitance of the tank and facilitate the achievement of ZCS for the active switches. The analysis and evaluation of the proposed system was done using MATLAB/SIMULINK software for a 48V 150 Ah lead-acid battery and selected results were adopted to prove the system validity. As a result, the state of charge (SOC) is increasing during charging, thereby confirming the suitability of the developed converter for use energy storage systems.

Environmental awareness, current trends in the power market, the quest for energy efficiency, and the progressive transformation of electricity consumers to prosumers are the primary drives for the gradual shift from the old power grids into the smart grids. The deployment of renewable dispersed generation systems and energy storage units uncovered the need for smart metering to oversee and control those generation systems. This chapter presents the design and development of a robust, efficient, multi-functional, and low-cost smart meter. The proposed metering system has added features that enabled the utilities to recover the meter energy measurement data remotely. The system allows monitoring and transmission of energy consumed in real-time. It considers using a microcontroller board as the controlling unit to execute control and monitor activities. A liquid crystal display displays standard electrical measurements such as current, voltage, power, and energy consumption. The external communication device is required in the unit’s actualization, in conjunction with the control unit based on the existing mobile technology. It stands as the intermediary between the nearby available utility station and consumers or end-users. In conclusion, liquid crystal display displays real-time based data for the end-user to visualize. The usage data billing is done within thirty seconds, stored, and trans-received the process for data collection, keeping, and billing generation.