Design, Modeling and Energy Management of a PEM Fuel Cell / Supercapacitor Hybrid Vehicle

This work concerns the study and the modeling of hybrid Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell electric vehicle. In fact, the paper deals with the model description of the powertrain which includes two energy sources: a PEM Fuel Cell as a primary source and a supercapacitor as a secondary source. The architecture is two degrees of freedom permitting a stability of the DC bus voltage. The hybridation of primary source with an energy storage system can improve vehicle dynamic response during transients and hydrogen consumption. The proposed energy management algorithm allows us to have a minimum hydrogen consumption. This algorithm is based on supercapacitor state of charge (SOC) control and acceleration/deceleration phases making possible braking energy recovery. The proposed model is simulated and tested using Matlab/Simulink software allowing rapid transitions between sources. The obtained results with the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) cycle demonstrate a 22% gain in hydrogen consumption. Keywords—PEM Fuel Cell; Powertrain; Electric vehicle; Supercapacitor; Energy management; Power system; hydrogen gain