Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 10–18

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

Recent advances and challenges of fuel cell based power system MARK
architectures and control – A review
⁎
Vipin Dasa, Sanjeevikumar Padmanabanb, , Karthikeyan Venkitusamya,
Rajasekar Selvamuthukumaranc, Frede Blaabjergd, Pierluigi Sianoe
a
Department of Electrical Engineering, MNNIT, Allahabad 211002, India
b
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg, South Africa
c
Technology Development Department, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, Gurgaon 122001, India
d
Center for Reliable Power Electronics (CORPE), Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, Pontoppidanstraede 101, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark
e
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132 - 84084 Fisciano, Salerno, Italy

A R T I C L E I N F O A BS T RAC T

Keywords: Renewable energy generation is rapidly growing in the power sector industry and widely used for two categories:
Controller grid connected and standalone system. This paper gives the insights about fuel cell operation and application of
Dynamics various power electronics systems. The fuel cell voltage decreases bit by bit with expansion in current because of
Integration losses associated with fuel cell. It is difficult in handling large rated fuel cell based power system without
Reliability
regulating mechanism. The issue connected with fuel based structural planning and the arrangements are
Renewable
Suitability
widely investigated for all sorts of utilization. In order to improve the reliability of fuel cell based power system,
the integration of energy storage system and advanced research methods are focused in this paper. The control
algorithms of power architecture for the couple of well-known applications are discussed. Additionally, the
paper addresses the suitable processor utilized as a part of the energy unit application on the premise of fuel cell
characteristics. In this paper, the challenges to improve the dynamics of controller in fuel cell based applications
are mentioned.

1. Introduction 0.78 V [3]. In the 1960s enhancements were made by joining Teflon in
the impetus layer specifically contiguous the electrolyte, as was finished
The price of fossil fuel is increasing step by step because of absence with the GE fuel cell unit at the time. Extensive upgrades were made
of accessibility. The power system industries are restructuring to from the mid-1970s, forward to the reception of the completely
renewable energy based power generation as an alternate solution. fluorinated Nafion layer.
By considering environmental factors, the fuel cell based energy The department of energy (DOE) and national energy technology
generation is a most suitable renewable system than solar and wind laboratory (NETL) are mainly concentrated on developing fuel cell
energy system [1]. Recently, fuel cells are rapidly developed and based power plants for standalone and grid connected applications [4].
commercially available with high, medium and low power range The overall commercialization of fuel cell has not yet come. The two
applications. In order to reduce the cost of fuel cell, researchers have biggest obstructions for commercialization is life time and expense [5].
been focused to improve the reliability and efficiency of the fuel cell The lifetime needed by a commercial fuel cell is more than 5000
based power system [2]. The analysis report shows that the fuel cell working hours for light-weight vehicles and more than 40,000 working
market is increasing every year [3]. hours of stationary power with not as much as a 10% decay [6,7]. At
The first fuel cell was accidentally invented in 1839 by Sir William present, most power devices display real execution rot after around a
Robert Grove, however, no down to earth's utilization was found for thousand hours of operation [8,9]. The DOE targets are to accomplish
one more century [2]. General Electric Company (GE) started creating an existence time of 40,000 h by 2011 with 40% effectiveness for
fuel cell in the 1950s and was granted the agreement for the Gemini distributed power and 5000-h life by 2015 to 60% efficiency for
space mission in 1962. The 1 kW Gemini energy unit framework had a transportation.
platinum stacking of 35 mg Pt/cm2 and execution of 37 mA/cm2 at Fuel cell technology has many advantages as compared with the

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Padmanaban).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.01.148
Received 6 March 2016; Received in revised form 17 November 2016; Accepted 21 January 2017
Available online 24 January 2017
1364-0321/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
V. Das et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 10–18

Table 1 or contains oxygen gases like air or halogens like chlorine [20–22].
Comparison of Fuel cell/wind/solar. In most of the cases, the combustion of Hydrogen and oxygen
produces the water and it will split into two electrochemical reactions
Technology Capacity factor Life (year) Payback CO2 Emission
(%) (Year) reduction (kg) at the electrode independently, which are termed as two cell reaction.
The basic reaction taking place in a fuel cell is given in Eqs. (1)–(3).
Fuel cell 95 20 7.9 979,526 At anode,
Wind 17.5 25 36.5 268,175
Solar 25.8 20 8 539,954 H2 → 2H+ + 2e− (1)
At cathode,
other conventional renewable energy sources. Table 1 shows the 1/2O2 + 2H+ + 2e− → H2 O (2)
comparison of fuel cell technology with wind and solar technology.
From the Table 1 it is clear that fuel cell based power system has an Overall reaction,
upper hand over other renewable energy technology. H2 + 1/2O2 → H2 O (3)
Many literatures are available in the field of fuel cell, operation and + -
The ions (H ) and electrons (e ) are produced by H2 due to anode
applications. A comprehensive review about the fuel cell technologies,
reaction. The H+ moves towards cathode directly and e-moves to
applications and challenges are mentioned in [10–15]. Power genera-
cathode via load (external circuit). Finally, H+ and e- combines with
tion is one of the major fields of application of fuel cell. The major
O2 and produces water, which is the added advantage of fuel cell [23].
challenges and opportunities of fuel cell in the power generation area is
Fig. 1 shows the schematic of fuel cell.
detailed in [16]. Since the fuel cell voltage is very low, it required power
electronic interfacing to boost up the voltage. Many power electronics
converters have been developed particularly for the fuel cell applica- 2.2. Types of fuel cell
tions. [17] gives clear idea about the power electronic interface and
their challenges in the fuel cell area. The challenges associated with Fuel cells are mainly classified according to the electrolyte and types
power management in fuel cell power generation applications and of fuel used. The main categories of fuel cells available in the market
electric vehicles are explained in [18,19]. Power electronics converter are explained below.
with adaptive controllers and energy storage systems are the best
remedy for power management system in the fuel cell. A strategy to 2.2.1. Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC)
manage power in hybrid power system is explained in [19]. The control Acid polymer is used as the electrolyte and pure hydrogen is used as
strategy mentioned in [19] can be improved by considering power fuel. The operating temperature of the PEMFC is below 100°C. Now a
quality while managing the real power. day, this fuel cell is popular and widely used in vehicle application.
The paper provides an overview of the current status, applications
and advancements in fuel cells. A number of literatures are available in 2.2.2. Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC)
the field of fuel cells. The main issues which are not mentioned in the In DMFC, the polymer membrane used as an electrolyte, and the
existing literature are addressed in this paper. Some major field of fuel fuel used is methanol. The operating temperature of DMFC is below
cell applications, application of power electronic converters and their 60 °C and it is mainly used for portable power applications below
control are discussed in detail. The major challenges and remedies are 259 W.
also mentioned as a matter of interest.
A detailed survey of the fuel cell based converters has been 2.2.3. Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell (PAFC)
presented in this paper. The fuel cell technology and different types In PAFC, The liquid phosphoric acid is used as the electrolyte and
of fuel cells are organized in Section 2. In Section 3 recent researches in pure hydrogen is used as the fuel. The operating temperature is around
fuel cells and the major applications of fuel cells are discussed. In 180 °C. These types of fuel cell are particularly used as stationary
Section 4 the challenges associated with the fuel cell and its remedies power generators and which is not efficient electrically.
are explained with the help of recent literatures. In Section 5 the fuel
cell based power system and in Section 6 different controllers used for 2.2.4. Alkaline Fuel Cell (AFC)
fuel cell power system are discussed and finally the paper is concluded Here, alkaline solutions are used as electrolyte of fuel cell and pure
by Section 7.

2. An overview and types of fuel cells

Fuel cells are static devices, which converts chemical energy of

Hydrogen and Oxygen directly into electrical energy through an
electro-chemical reaction. The fuel cell will generate electrical energy
as long as the fuel is supplied to the system, i.e., it can produce
electricity without recharging unlike battery.

2.1. Fuel cell operation

The working principle of the fuel cell is simple, however, it has

complicated design. Fuel cell essentially comprises of cathodes, elec-
trolyte and fuel. The positive and negative terminals are known as
cathode and anode, respectively. These are two terminals are contacted
with the electrolyte inside and external electric circuit. The fuel is
continuously fed to the anode while oxidant supplied to cathode.
Generally, the fuel is pure hydrogen or contains some hydrogen gases
like methanol, ethanol and natural gases. The oxidants are pure oxygen Fig. 1. Schematic of fuel cell.

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V. Das et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 10–18

hydrogen is used as fuel. The operating temperature is about 70 °C and 3.2.1. Fuel cell vehicle
which is more stable. This type fuel cell is mainly used as standalone Fuel cells are a promising innovation in transportation. The main
power generators. objective of the automotive industry is to improve the fossil fuel
efficiency and reduce the harmful gas emission. Because of this fact,
2.2.5. Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) the growth of fuel cell rapidly increases in e-vehicles applications [24].
This type of fuel cells is widely used as stationary power generator A fuel cell vehicle is becoming popular and attracts more due to the
and its operating temperature is around 1000 °C. The solid ceramic absence of internal combustion engines. Also, it has the advantages of
electrolyte like zirconium oxide and syngas type of fuels are used in this simple construction with more reliable and pollution free. The main
fuel cell. challenge of fuel cell based vehicle is to convert and control of the
electrical power to mechanical power. Fig. 3 shows the fuel cells are
becoming more attractive in the automotive industry. The main
2.2.6. Molten Carbon Fuel Cell (MCFC) challenge in using fuel cell for vehicle application is to convert the
Here, Molten carbonate salt suspended in a porous ceramic matrix power generated to mechanical power and controlling of the generated
is used as the electrolyte and hydrocarbon is used as fuel. The operating electric power. Fig. 3 shows the generalized block diagram of a heavy
temperature is around 650 °C and which is mainly used for high power duty fuel cell powered transit bus [25].
application. In this system, the DC-DC converters step up the fuel cell voltage to
the main DC bus voltage. During acceleration, the power has been
3. Review on research progress in fuel cell technology supplied by the battery storage unit. The operator gives command to
the controller through the front panel [26]. The major problem
Though the first fuel cell has been invented in 1839, the develop- associated with the fuel cell vehicle is the power management between
ment of fuel cell has not reached full-fledged yet. In recent years, the battery and load (motor); in order to achieve this, the hybridization is
researchers are focused to extract maximum utilization from fuel cells. required with energy storage unit [26]. Souleman Njoya M, et al.
And also, people mainly concentrated on the technical, economic and proposed a generic simulation model for fuel cell vehicle reported in
environmental aspects of fuel cells. The researches in the fuel cell area [27]. The issues of energy management in fuel cell vehicle are discussed
mainly concentrated on application of fuel cell and material develop- detail in [27]. The automobile manufacturers are concentrated on
ment. Some of the major areas of fuel cell applications and researches determining specialized issues for mass generation. The numerous and
are detailed in this section. its group of companies have anticipated that FCVs would be economic-
ally feasible by 2020, and the conventional vehicles would be com-
pletely replaced by FCVs by 2030 [28,29]. A road test and problems are
3.1. Importance of fuel cell
associated with the fuel cell vehicle during running time and which is
reported by Xian et al. [30].
The Fuel cells have a variety of advantages when compared to
conventional power sources like internal combustion engine and other
3.2.2. Telecommunication
renewable energy sources. The major advantages are enlisted below.
Fuel cells are popular in telecommunication systems [31,32]. The

• As compared to other power source fuel cell has higher efficiency.

fuel cell framework is currently under test by the distinctive telecom

• Noise free operation.

organization in worldwide for backup application. Giuseppe Gianolo

• It has pollution free completely, since water is the repercussion

et al. have been proposed a new system named electro7 fuel cell power
system for telecommunication application [33].
instead of CO2 emission from the fuel cell.
• It has lesser maintenance, since there are no moving parts.
• The Fuel cell is economical because it does not need any fossil fuel to
3.2.3. Underwater vehicle
Recently, the fuel cells are used in submarines and ships. In ships,
operate.
the fuel cells can be used as an advanced electric ship demonstrator
(AESD). However, the space occupied by a fuel cell system is large and
Fig. 2 shows Yearly-wise demand of fuel. From the graph, it can be
it has to be taken care. Due to higher environment temperature caused
seen that, the fuel cell installation is increasing year by year.
by fuel cells, the special consideration needs to be provided for other
sensitive major components and ship's crew. The choice of fuel cell
3.2. Fuel cell applications must be able to withstand the under level temperature and humidity of
ship fuel, however, such a fuel cells are industrially accessible [34].
Fuel cells are used in many applications including distributed PEMFC is appropriate for maritime applications in light of its low
generation (DG), automotive application and telecommunication ap- working temperature, quick switch-on/switch-off conduct, and long
plication. In all these applications, the technical, economic and service life. PEMFC module could be incorporated into the Advanced
environmental advantages of fuel cells are exploited. Some of the Electric Ship Demonstrator. The combination of the energy unit
specific applications of fuel cell are explained in the next subsections. modules into AESD obliges a strong force moulding framework [35].

3.3. Future scope of fuel cell

The major applications of fuel cells are in fuel cell vehicles and the
fuel cell based power system. The fuel cells are better replacement for
the internal combustion engine. A recent literature article shows that
fuel cell associated with battery storage will replace the conventional
internal combustion engines in near future. S. Basri, et al. mentioned
the future of DMFC in process control applications.

4. Challenges and further research needs

Fig. 2. Yearly-wise demand of fuel. Basically, the challenges of fuel cell depend on applications. The

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V. Das et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 10–18

Fig. 3. Generalized block diagram of a heavy duty fuel cell powered transit bus.

fuel cell technologies will take years to overcome the technical hurdle. • The voltage profile is not changing linearly with current.
The important limitations of the fuel cells are listed below, • After a certain range of current densities, the voltage falls quickly.

(a) The slower dynamics The main losses associated with the fuel cells are explained below,
(b) Poor voltage profile against current density Activation loss: These are caused by the slowness of the reactions
(c) It should be associated with energy storage system (ESS) to happening on the surface of the terminals. The voltage is losing due to
provide stable output the chemical reaction that trades the electrons to or from the cathode.
(d) Higher current ripple
• Fuel crossover and internal currents: This energy loss results from
In order to overcome the above limitations, the research challenges the abuse of fuel experiencing the electrolyte, and, to a lesser degree,
for different applications are addressed in this section. from electron conduction through the electrolyte.
• Ohmic losses: These losses are mainly caused by the resistance
4.1. V-I characteristics of the fuel cell offered by the external electric circuit and the resistance to the flow
of ions through the electrolyte. It causes voltage drop and it is
The losses and challenges of fuel cell technology can be easily proportional to the current density in linear, and so is called ohmic
understood from the V-I characteristics of the fuel cell. The V-I losses, or sometimes as resistive losses.
characteristics of a fuel cell can be determined by (4). • Mass transport or concentration losses: Due to this loss, the
Vcell = EN + Va + VC + Vohm (4) adjustment in fixation of the reactants at the surface of the terminals
as the fuel is utilized. Since the decrease in fixation is the after effect
where, Vcell is the cell operating voltage, EN is the Nernst voltage of an inability to transport adequate reacting to the anode surface,
(thermodynamic potential), Va is the voltage drop due to activation of this sort of loss is additionally regularly called mass transport losses.
the process, Vc is the voltage drop resulting from the reduction in
concentration of the reactant gases or from the transport of mass of 4.2. Non-minimum phase behaviour of fuel cell humidifier
oxygen and hydrogen and Vohm represents the voltage drop due to the
resistance offered by the electric circuit [36,37]. Fig. 4 shows the V-I Humidifiers in fuel cell can provide heat and humidity to the fuel
characteristics of a typical fuel cell. cell system. Without the humidifier, the fuel cell become drier and it
From Fig. 4, the issues of fuel cell voltage behaviour are mentioned causes the degradation and low efficiency of the entire system. For
as follows, proper operation of the system the humidifier should be designed
properly. For automotive application, when the load changes continu-
• The cell voltage is less than the ideal voltage. ously, the proper humidification control is needed [38]. Humidifier of a
• There is a rapid initial fall in voltage. fuel cell exhibits non-minimum phase (NMP) zero behaviour [39]. It is
not a desirable characteristics and it impose the limits on feedback
controller and performance of the linear time invariant control system.
The bandwidth of the system also affected by the NMP behaviour, it
places an upper limit on the bandwidth of the closed loop [40–42].

5. Power electronics for fuel cell applications

5.1. DC-DC Boost converter

The Fuel cells cannot acknowledge current in the reverse direction,

do not perform well with a more ripple current, have a low yield voltage
that differs with current density, respond slowly to step changes in
load. Hence, the converters are important to support and manage the
voltage profile as an intend to give a firm relevant DC power source.
Moreover, the expansion of an inverter has to be considered for
converting DC to AC for a utility interface or for the use of an AC
Fig. 4. V-I Characteristics of fuel cell. appliances [43]. Recently the different topologies are introduced in DC-

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V. Das et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 10–18

Fig. 7. Voltage double converter.

the transformer. Basically, the transformer HV voltage and battery

Fig. 5. Full-bridge converter with multiple secondary coils.
voltages are added together at the point C. It has the advantages of
producing a smaller ripple voltage on the output side of DC-DC
DC converter and inverter particularly for fuel cell applications [44]. converter. The voltage and current stress are minimum compared to
The typical output voltage of a single fuel cell is about 1.5 V, which non isolated DC-DC converter [48,49].
is quite less for practical applications and in order to boost up to a
higher level, the different configurations are available in the literature.
5.1.3. Push pull converter
At earlier, the conventional DC-DC boost converters can be used and to
The push pull converter is not suitable for high power application,
achieve higher conversion ratio, the converters are connected in series
due to saturation in the transformer core. And also a transformer
for fuel cell applications. However, the power conditioning challenges
utilization factor is too low because of centre tapped configuration. The
of fuel cells have not been resolved. In following subsections, the higher
efficiency of the converter is higher, particularly suits where the
the conversion ratio DC-DC converters are discussed, especially the
requirement of high voltage low power application. The Efficiency of
application of fuel cell.
this converter is about 94% and it has excellent dynamic and static
characteristics [50,51].
5.1.1. Full-bridge converter with multiple secondary coils
Fig. 5 shows the full bridge converter with multiple coils at the 5.1.4. High step-up DC-DC converter with coupled inductor
secondary. This converter consists of high frequency transformer with This converter is typically used for PEMFC system. Fig. 8 shows the
multiple secondary windings with tapped relay. This converter can be high step up DC-DC converter with coupled inductor. The main
operated as constant voltage or constant current mode, electro- advantage of this converter is higher efficiency. Due to the high gain,
mechanical relays are used to adjust the voltage gain depending on the converter is well suited for fuel cell applications, though the
the load. Because of higher conversion ratio (voltage gain), this minimum fuel cell voltage. Compared to conventional DC-DC con-
converter well suitable for SOFC application and the output has been verter, it consists of two time's higher component count [52].
fed to a voltage source inverter for AC applications. The DC-link voltage
can be maintained by changing the tap position in secondary winding
5.2. Inverters
of transformer [45,46].
This topology consists of DC-DC converter, inverter and battery.
In most of the application, AC supply is required and to convert DC-
Fig. 6 shows the soft switching of indirect, DC-DC converter for power
AC, inverters can be used. Push pull inverters are most commonly used
conditioning. The converter produces fewer losses, reliable and smaller
in fuel cell applications because of higher efficiency. The various types
size. Because of the simple control strategy, it is easy to implement in
of inverter, which is suitable for fuel cell applications has been reviewed
fuel cell applications. Since the absence of DC link capacitor, the power
below.
transfer capability is high. The high frequency link transformer
provides isolation and also boosted up the voltage to an appropriate
level [47]. 5.2.1. High frequency link inverter
Fig. 9 shows the high frequency link inverter. It operates as a cyclo-
converter with stepped up and down the frequency of the AC. Also the
5.1.2. Voltage doubler voltage can be modified as appropriate level with the help of a high
Fig. 7 shows the circuit configuration of voltage doubler. In this frequency link transformer. Isolation and voltage boosted/bucked are
converter a voltage would be doubled at the high voltage (HV) side of the main advantages of this converter [53,54].

5.2.2. Z-source inverter

Fig. 10 shows the Z-source inverter. This converter consists of an
input impedance along with a half bridge inverter. The impedance

Fig. 6. Soft switching direct converter topology. Fig. 8. High step-up DC-DC converter with coupled-inductor.

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V. Das et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 10–18

Fig. 12. Hybrid fuel cell power system.

Fig. 9. High frequency link inverter. are the best solution for the falling voltage characteristics of the fuel
cell.

6. Fuel cell based power systems

Among the fuel cells explained in section II, SOFC, MCFC and
PEMFC are more suitable for distributed generation (DG) applications.
Because of higher efficiency, flexible structure and low emission are
leads to fuel cells superior over conventional power plants. In DG
applications, the fuel cells can be used as standalone or grid connected
mode. Generally, the fuel cells are not used separately in DG applica-
tions. Usually, it can be hybridized with some other renewable or
Fig. 10. Z-source inverter topology. conventional power generators or energy storage system to improve the
reliability of the power system.
network formed by inductor and capacitors and connected in X
manner. By temporary charge and discharge in the inductor and 6.1. Hybrid fuel cell power system
capacitor alternatively, the boosted output can be achieved. Ideally,
the output voltage of the Z-source inverter can be increased up to A hybrid fuel cell structure has been discussed in [60]. Fig. 12
infinity. Due to higher stepped up ratio, it can be suited well for fuel cell shows the block diagram of the fuel cell power system hybridized with
application. It has the disadvantages of higher current stress due to battery as an energy storage system. In this system, during the starting
passive elements [55,56]. By controlling the boost factor, The Z-source period, the battery is assumed to be fully charged and battery feeds the
inverter framework can create a yield voltage more prominent than the load till the fuel cell starts (cold start) and after that the fuel cell takes
AC input voltage which is not possible to achieve using ASD systems over the entire load. During the light load period, the excess power
[57]. When the Z-source converter used for stepping up the voltage, the from the fuel cell is stored in battery and the regenerated power from
additional DC-DC converter can be eliminated, hence the loss of the the load also stored in batteries. When the load requirement is higher
system reduces [58]. than the fuel cell energy generation, the supplement energy supplied by
battery to load [60].
The study of a wind-power fuel-cell hybrid system with Aegean
5.2.3. LLCC resonant inverter
island grid operation has been reported in [61]. The hybrid fuel cell
As given in Fig. 11, the LLLC inverter consists of series and parallel
based power system is the best replacement for the conventional power
combination of inductors and capacitors. The main advantage of this
system. The power of the hybrid system can be smoothly regulated and
converter is low switching loss and ripple free output, but due to the
easy to interconnect with the grid.
presence of inductors and capacitor system becomes bulky and costly
[59].
6.2. Standalone fuel cell power system

5.3. Future research needs in the fuel cell area A systematic approach for a standalone residential fuel cell power
inverter design has been discussed by Ugur Savas Selamogullari et al.
For exploiting the capability of fuel cell researches are going on in [62]. Fig. 13 shows the hybrid wind/PV/fuel cell standalone power
the field of chemical engineering, material science and engineering and
in electrical engineering. Researchers are mainly concentrating to
obtain maximum output voltage from the fuel cell with zero emission.
For obtaining a feasible voltage from the fuel cell power electronic
engineers are working in the field of converters. High gain converters

Fig. 11. LLCC resonant inverter topology. Fig. 13. hybrid PV/wind/fuel cell standalone power system.

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V. Das et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 10–18

Fig. 14. Grid connected fuel cell based power system.

system. The technical and economic benefits for fuel cell based
standalone power systems has been mentioned in [63,64] The replace-
ment of conventional technology in renewable energy application of
fuel cells will reduce the running costs and greenhouse gas emission by
the system.

6.3. Grid connected fuel cell power systems

According to IEEE 1547 standard, In order to interconnect a fuel

cell based DG system to an utility grid, it is necessary to control the
shape the output voltage in magnitude, phase and frequency of the
inverter and also the real and reactive power flow has to be controlled
between DG and grid [65–68]. A grid connected fuel cell power system
based on boost inverter technology has been reported in [69]. Recently,
Fig. 16. Micro controller based controller for fuel cell.
the researchers have been focused to implement fuel cell energy for
HVDC applications [70]. Fig. 14 shows the grid connected fuel cell
based power system. predictive controller for temperature management has been proposed
in [74]. It is the most advanced controller for the fuel processor system
7. Controller for fuel cell applications to improve the reliability of the system, also it has very fast control
action [75].
Due to the slower dynamics and the challenges explained in Section
6, a controller is necessary for the operation of the fuel cell. The 7.2. Controller for power electronics converters
controller used in fuel cell application is of two types, controller for fuel
processor and the controller for the interfaced power electronic As explained in previous sections, usually, the fuel cells interfaced
devices. through power electronics converters (DC/DC boost converters and
inverters). The controller mainly deals with control of these conversion
7.1. Controller for the fuel processor stages, such as DC-DC boost and inverter. A controller design for PEM
fuel cell has been reported in [76]. Zhenhua Jiang et al. propose a
The main objective of this controller has to regulate the flow of digital controller for fuel cell based power system [77]. Fig. 16 shows
hydrogen to the anode and to control the temperature of the oxidizing the schematic of the micro controller based digital controller. Compact
chamber [71]. Fig. 15 shows the typical control block diagram used for size is the advantage of digital controller as compared with the
fuel processor. Here, as shown in Fig. 16, a feed forward system can be conventional controllers. A linearization based nonlinear controller
used and which proves necessary commands to the valve and blower. for PEMFC has been explained in [78]. The deviation between the
Breather control is necessary for the operation of fuel cell to protect partial pressure of hydrogen and oxygen can be reduced by using this
from oxygen starvation during sudden changes in load [72]. A state nonlinear controller [79]. Sung-Yeul Park et al. proposes an active and
feedback controller helps the operation of pressure and water manage- reactive power flow controller for SOFC in [80]. The FPGA based
ment has been addressed by Amey Y. Karnik et al. [73]. A model controller provides real time controlling the system [81].
The fast and reliable operation of model predictive controller will
increase the battery life by decreasing the battery current variation
[82]. A second order sliding mode controller for fuel cell vehicle has
been explained by T. Azib et al. The sliding mode controller can be used
to overcome the slower dynamics of the fuel cell [83]. The maximum
power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms can be used in the fuel cell
controller, to extract the maximum power from the fuel cell. The
efficiency of the fuel cell based power system can be increased when
implementing MPPT technique [84].
Xiaosong Hu et al. proposed a convex programming based con-
troller for power management in the fuel cell applications. A convex
program has been developed and it can be used to optimize the power
Fig. 15. Control structure of fuel cell processor. balance between fuel cell system and the battery. By using the convex

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