Generic Dynamical Model of PEM Electrolyser under Intermittent Sources

Abstract

Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) water electrolysis system is one of the promising technologies to produce green hydrogen from renewable energy sources (wind and solar). However, performance and dynamic analysis of PEM water electrolysis systems are challenging due to the intermittent nature of such sources and involved multi-physical behaviour of the components and subsystems. This study proposes a generic dynamical model of the PEM electrolysis system represented in a modular fashion using Bond Graph (BG) as a unified modelling approach. Causal and functional properties of the BG facilitate the formal PEM electrolyser model to adapt and to fit the different configurations of the electrolyser ranging from laboratory scale to industrial scale. The system-specific key parameter values are identified optimally for a laboratory-scale electrolyser system running on a multi-source energy platform using experimental data. The mean absolute percentage error between simulation and experimental data is found to be less than 5%. The performance characteristic curves of the electrolyser are predicted at different operating temperatures using the identified key parameters. The predicted performance is in good agreement with the expected behaviour of the electrolyser found in the literature. The model also estimates the different energy losses and the real-time efficiency of the system under dynamic inputs. With these capabilities, the developed model provides an economical mean for design, control, and diagnosis development of such systems.

Review on Bubble Dynamics in Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis: Towards Optimal Green Hydrogen Yield

“…When operating PEM water electrolysis at a low current density, the main contributors to overpotential losses are sources other than mass transport overpotential. Mass transfer overpotential performance influence is often insignificant under these conditions [110].…”

A Comprehensive Review on The Potential of Green Hydrogen in Empowering the Low-Carbon Economy: Development Status, Ongoing Trends and Key Challenges

“…At the cathode side, the hydrogen protons recombine with the hydrogen electrons in pairs to form hydrogen (H 2 ) gas [33,34]. The technologies used for water electrolysis can be classified into three main categories: Alkaline (ALK) electrolysers, Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) electrolysers, and Solid-Oxide Electrolysis Cells (SOECs).…”

Development of a novel quasi-2D PEM Electrolyzer Model in Modelica

“…While their electrochemical behavior has been extensively studied, their dynamic thermal behavior has been mostly simplified. A large number of models use the so-called lumped parameter approach, where incoming and outgoing heat fluxes are calculated based on the assumption that the electrolysis stack has a uniform temperature at each time step (Crespi et al 2023;Espinosa-López et al 2018;García-Valverde, Espinosa and Urbina 2012;Sood et al 2020). This type of model has already been implemented in Modelica by Webster and Bode (2019).…”