Literature Survey of Interleaved DC-DC Step-Down Converters for Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzer Applications

Abstract

Recently, the use of electrolyzers for hydrogen production through water electrolysis is of great interest in the industrial field to replace current hydrogen production pathways based on fossil fuels (e.g. oil, coal). The electrolyzers must be supplied with a very low DC voltage in order to produce hydrogen from the deionized water. For this reason, DC-DC step-down converters are generally used. However, these topologies present several drawbacks from output current ripple and voltage gain point of view. In order to meet these expectations, interleaved DC-DC step-down converters are considered as promising and interesting candidates to supply proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers. Indeed, these converters offer some advantages including output current ripple reduction and reliability in case of power switch failures. In addition, over the last decade, many improvements have been brought to these topologies with the aim to enhance their conversion gain. Hence, the main goal of this paper is to carry out a thorough state-of-the-art of different interleaved step-down DC-DC topologies featuring a high voltage gain, needed for PEM electrolyzer applications.