Hydrogen Consumption Research Articles

Towards building clean hydrogen supply chain network in Iran for future domestic demand and exports. Part I: Prioritization of scenarios

The first part of the current study highlights the importance of developing a clean hydrogen supply chain (CHSC) in Iran to enhance energy security and contribute to global efforts towards sustainable energy transition. Depending on whether the focus is on domestic consumption or export of hydrogen, the study provides valuable insights into the prioritization of CHSC development pathways via multi-criteria decision-making tools (AHP, AHOP-TOPSIS, and AHP-VIKOR). The results show that for domestic hydrogen consumption (internal scenario), the best path of the supply chain includes blue hydrogen from steam methane reforming coupled with carbon capture and storage, H2-carriers (ammonia and methanol), natural gas grid for transportation and distribution, and industry sector as the end user. In the external scenario, however, the best path of the CHSC consists of green hydrogen production based on solar energy, and the other parts of the path include liquid hydrogen as the storage method, ship as the distribution and transportation, and industrial sector as the end user. By identifying the most suitable methods and technologies for each stage of the supply chain, this paper offers a comprehensive analysis that can guide decision-making in CHSC development.

Organic matter degradation in the deep, sulfidic waters of the Black Sea: insights into the ecophysiology of novel anaerobic bacteria

BackgroundRecent studies have reported the identity and functions of key anaerobes involved in the degradation of organic matter (OM) in deep (> 1000 m) sulfidic marine habitats. However, due to the lack of available isolates, detailed investigation of their physiology has been precluded. In this study, we cultivated and characterized the ecophysiology of a wide range of novel anaerobes potentially involved in OM degradation in deep (2000 m depth) sulfidic waters of the Black Sea.ResultsWe have successfully cultivated a diverse group of novel anaerobes belonging to various phyla, including Fusobacteriota (strain S5), Bacillota (strains A1T and A2), Spirochaetota (strains M1T, M2, and S2), Bacteroidota (strains B1T, B2, S6, L6, SYP, and M2P), Cloacimonadota (Cloa-SY6), Planctomycetota (Plnct-SY6), Mycoplasmatota (Izemo-BS), Chloroflexota (Chflx-SY6), and Desulfobacterota (strains S3T and S3-i). These microorganisms were able to grow at an elevated hydrostatic pressure of up to 50 MPa.Moreover, this study revealed that different anaerobes were specialized in degrading specific types of OM. Strains affiliated with the phyla Fusobacteriota, Bacillota, Planctomycetota, and Mycoplasmatota were found to be specialized in the degradation of cellulose, cellobiose, chitin, and DNA, respectively, while strains affiliated with Spirochaetota, Bacteroidota, Cloacimonadota, and Chloroflexota preferred to ferment less complex forms of OM. We also identified members of the phylum Desulfobacterota as terminal oxidizers, potentially involved in the consumption of hydrogen produced during fermentation. These results were supported by the identification of genes in the (meta)genomes of the cultivated microbial taxa which encode proteins of specific metabolic pathways. Additionally, we analyzed the composition of membrane lipids of selected taxa, which could be critical for their survival in the harsh environment of the deep sulfidic waters and could potentially be used as biosignatures for these strains in the sulfidic waters of the Black Sea.ConclusionsThis is the first report that demonstrates the cultivation and ecophysiology of such a diverse group of microorganisms from any sulfidic marine habitat. Collectively, this study provides a step forward in our understanding of the microbes thriving in the extreme conditions of the deep sulfidic waters of the Black Sea.Exyq52VguUrmavAnxe2qURVideo

A real-time hydrogen consumption estimation method for fuel cell vehicles

ABSTRACT As an economic evaluation indicator for fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), real-time hydrogen consumption’s accuracy and immediateness are important. Real-time hydrogen consumption obtained through the fuel cell system (FC Power method) has strong immediateness but poor accuracy, while through the hydrogen mass (Mass method) has good accuracy but poor immediateness. Given the difficulty in obtaining sufficient training data on actual vehicles, this paper establishes a hydrogen storage system model whose input and output can be used to obtain data. Then, a new estimation method based on the prediction of the mass’s difference (PMD method) has been constructed based on the Neural basis expansion analysis with exogenous variables (NBEATSx) algorithm. After the NBEATSx algorithm is trained, the prediction accuracy of the PMD method is verified under urban and high-speed conditions. The result shows that the new method proposed in this article improves Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Mean Absolute Error (MAE) by nearly 45% compared to the FC Power method, and the hydrogen consumption’s sampling point is advanced compared to the Mass method. The trained model can be input into Hydrogen Management System (HMS) which is installed on the hydrogen storage system and output data in real-time.

Pd‐Pt Bimetallic Catalysts for Enhanced Low‐Temperature Hydrodeoxygenation of Vanillin

AbstractTo make pyrolytic bio‐oil useful as a transportation fuel, the oxygen content must be reduced, and this can be carried out by using catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) reaction. The greatest challenge is associated with the removal of strongly bound oxygenated groups without saturating the aromatic ring while preserving the number of carbons. However, the development of a stable catalyst that can selectively remove such oxygenated groups with low hydrogen consumption is still challenging. In this context, a systematic study on HDO of vanillin on bimetallic Pd−Pt catalysts was carried out. It aims to study the effect of bimetallic synergy in terms of activity and selectivity to creosol. Metallic nanoparticles of Pd and Pt were synthesized by sol immobilization technique and deposited on TiO2. The conversion of vanillin was correlated to the Pd−Pt atomic ratio, while the production of the creosol was correlated to the Pd(0)/(Pd+Pt) ratio at the surface. Full conversion of vanillin was obtained at low reaction temperature (20 °C) achieving nearly 100 % selectivity to creosol. These results represent a step forward in advancing the development of more efficient and sustainable processes for bio‐oil upgrading.

Process modelling for the production of hydrogen-based direct reduced iron in shaft furnaces using different ore grades

This process modelling study explored the behaviour of hydrogen-based direct reduced iron (DRI) manufacturing in a shaft furnace. Various performance parameters such as metallisation ratio (MR), consumption of hydrogen per tonne of DRI, production of by-products, reactor energy demand and total energy demands for the process have been analysed with respect to temperature, ore grade (gangue content), and reactant conditions. The HSC Chemistry (H: enthalpy, S: entropy and C: heat capacity) SIM (simulation) module was employed for the modelling coupled with the Gibbs energy minimisation calculation. The shaft furnace was divided into three zones to model the three-step reduction of iron ore in a counterflow arrangement. Results show that temperature and hydrogen supply have a significant effect on the metallisation of DRI. Increasing temperature and hydrogen flow rate were predicted to increase the MR or reducibility. A full metallisation can be achieved with hydrogen supply of 130, 110, 100 and 90 kg/tDRI at 700, 800, 900 and 1000°C, respectively, using the best-grade ore (Fe 69 wt.%, gangue 5.2 wt.%). However, the hydrogen consumption in full metallisation was calculated to be 54 kg/tDRI (tonne of DRI). At full MR, the reactor energy consumption (supplementary electrical energy) was calculated to be 0.56 to 0.59 MWh/t Fefeed using the reactor temperature from 700 to 1000°C. Ore grade or gangue content has a significant impact on reactor energy demand. For example, at 900°C, the top-grade ore was calculated to consume 0.69 MWh/tDRI compared to 0.88 MWh/tDRI using the lowest grade ore. A certain percentage of CO (i.e. 15%) blended with hydrogen was predicted to be beneficial for metallisation, hydrogen consumption, and overall energy demand. However, increasing CO would increase CO2 emissions significantly.

Assessing the Impact of Organic Loading Rate on Hydrogen Consumption Rates during In Situ Biomethanation

Biogas upgrading via biomethanation has been extensively studied recently, but the influence of organic loading rate on process performance remains to be fully understood. This is particularly significant because both organic loading rate and hydrogen injection can lead to volatile fatty acid accumulation during anaerobic digestion. This study investigated the impact of a wide range of organic loading rates (from 1.25 to 3.25 g VS/L/d) on hydrogen consumption rates, organic acid accumulation, and microbial communities during in situ biomethanation. It also provided kinetics data and metabolite production data for different control reactors, including anaerobic digestion, ex situ biomethanation, and endogenous control reactors. Hydrogen was injected into parallel batch reactors using digestate from a semi-continuous lab-scale reactor subjected to increasing organic loading rates (1.25–3.25 g VS/L/d) as an inoculum. The inoculum was well adapted to each tested organic loading rate. The batch experiments were replicated following a 12 h hydrogen starvation period to assess the stability of hydrogen consumption rates. High organic loading rate values resulted in increased hydrogen consumption rates, peaking at 68 mg COD/L/h at an organic loading rate of 3.25 g VS/L/d (maximum value tested), with no significant organic acid accumulation despite the high hydrogen partial pressures. The hydrogen consumption rates were maintained after the starvation period. Furthermore, the addition of an organic substrate did not impact the hydrogen consumption rate (i.e., the in situ and ex situ rates were similar). A higher organic loading rate resulted in higher relative abundances of hydrogenotrophic methanogens (i.e., Methanospirillum sp.). This study highlights that increasing the organic loading rate can accelerate the rate of hydrogen consumption during in situ biomethanation, consequently reducing both capital and operational costs.

Energy Management of Hydrogen Hybrid Electric Vehicles—Online-Capable Control

Energy Management of Hydrogen Hybrid Electric Vehicles—Online-Capable Control

Simulation and experimental research on energy management control strategy for fuel cell heavy-duty truck

Energy Management Control Strategies (EMCS) play a significant role in improving the economy of Fuel Cell Heavy-duty Truck (FCHT). In this paper, a Single Fuzzy (S-Fuzzy) control strategy is introduced for the FCHT by considering the output characteristics of the fuel cell as well as the charging and discharging power characteristics of the power battery at the current state of charge (SOC). On this basis, the real-time difference between the current SOC and the target SOC of the power battery during the actual operation of the vehicle was further considered, the real-time correction coefficient of the fuel cell output power was introduced, and a Compound Fuzzy (C-Fuzzy) control strategy suitable for FCHT was developed. Meanwhile, the established vehicle model was verified dynamically and economically to ensure its accuracy, with the maximum speed error lower than 2%, the SOC error within 4.9%, and the relative dynamic simulation error of 1.3%. Utilizing co-simulation platforms Cruise and Matlab, the research demonstrates that the C-Fuzzy control strategy significantly outperforms the S-Fuzzy strategy, reducing Equivalent Hydrogen Consumption (EHC) by 1.63% under C-WTVC conditions and by 3.12% under CHTC-TT conditions. To counteract efficiency loss from fuel cell load fluctuations, a real-time EMCS based on C-Fuzzy control and multi-level power output was developed. Validated over a 122-km route, the real-time EMCS reduced the equivalent hydrogen consumption per 100 km of the FCHT to 10.14 kg, maintained the average fuel cell efficiency at 51.02%, and ensured stable SOC of the power battery within the predetermined target range.

Roadmap for Greening the Economy of Turkmenistan

Over the past decades, interest in renewable energy has grown, this is due to the aggravation of climate change. The emerging trend of decarbonization of the world economy, including transport and energy, which are one of the main sources of air pollution with carbon dioxide emissions. The article discusses issues of climate change, decarbonization scenario, a road map for “greening” the economy, and presents a brief analysis of trends in the development of hydrogen energy and the importance of the development of “green” hydrogen in the world and in Turkmenistan. The main attention is paid to the prospects and scale of development of hydrogen energy to a certain extent will depend on the characteristics of the hydrogen sources proposed for use ­, primary energy sources and hydrogen production technologies, environmental consequences when using different approaches to hydrogen production, expected costs for hydrogen production, potential consumers and volumes of hydrogen consumption within the country and abroad, technologies for storing and delivering hydrogen to consumers, the competitiveness of hydrogen as an energy carrier in the domestic and foreign markets, taking into account all the necessary costs and a potential “transboundary carbon ­tax”.

Analysis of numerical modeling of steady-state modes of methane–hydrogen mixture transportation through a compressor station to reduce CO2 emissions

This study presents a mathematical model to evaluate the performance of gas pipelines during hydrogen injection in a gas pipeline-compressor station. The developed model presents the calculation of methane–hydrogen mixture (CH4/H2) transportation through the compressor station, where the compensation of pressure drops in the mass and energy balance takes place. Simultaneously, in the operation of the centrifugal blower system of gas compressor stations, the emissions of CO2 are considered, considering the mixing of gas media and the compression of CH4/H2. This mathematical model is realized for the pipeline transportation of hydrogen, at which the principle of mixture expansion occurs. The aim is to solve the problem of CO2 emissions at compressor stations. The optimization procedure has been formulated using a system of nonlinear algebraic equalities. The research focuses on the adaptation of existing gas transportation systems to CH4/H2 transportation and the impact of environmental risks on the operation of compressor station equipment. In this case, it is possible to determine the quantitative amount of hydrogen that can be added to natural gas. By solving the problem of finding the inner point of sets using the system of nonlinear algebraic equalities, it is possible to obtain the control parameters for safety control of technological modes of CH4/H2 mixture transportation. The study findings reveal that the consumption of gas charger and hydrogen was 50.67 and 0.184 kg/s, respectively, and the estimated efficiency resulting from the modified turbine design was 75.1 percent. These results indicate that the equipment operates more efficiently when hydrogen is being transported. The numerical analytical results indicated in this study hold practical significance for design applications. It will assist in identifying and evaluating the restrictions that may develop during the technological, operational, and design stages of decision-making.

Demand flexibility and its impact on a PEM fuel cell-based integrated energy supply system with humidity control

The development of efficient energy systems and renewable alternative energy sources has attracted substantial attention owing to the rise in environmental deterioration and energy usage. A combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) system can fully use different types of energy with low emissions and offers a viable solution to address these issues. Demand flexibility is a key issue in collaborating with different types of supplies and demands for optimal system operation. In this study, a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell driven CCHP system with humidity control is proposed to fully investigate the impact of demand flexibility on system operation. A novel flexible load regulation strategy was designed for the proposed system. The results show that flexible load regulation can reduce the thermal storage capacity by 25 %. Supplement heating and cooling do not need operate in winter and summer. With flexible regulation, the heating load can be reduced by 15.69 % in winter, and the cooling and dehumidification loads can be reduced by 30.71 % and 6.09 % in summer. The reductions in hydrogen consumption can reach 1.98 % and 7.51 % during winter and summer. The proposed method can simultaneously increase the exergy efficiency and reduce carbon emission, as well as the economy cost.

A one-dimensional diffusive transport model to evaluate H2S generation in salt caverns hydrogen storage sites

Salt caverns are considered a potential hydrogen storage site given the ductility, tightness, and chemical inertness of halite. In addition, unlike porous media, salt caverns require less cushion gas and allow more cycles of injection and production within a year. However, hydrogen is an electron donor for many hydrogenotrophic microorganisms including halophilic sulfate-reducing microbes (SRM) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) can be generated in a cavern once sulfate and hydrogen become available in the aqueous phase. As salt deposits are often associated with large amounts of impurities such as anhydrite and gypsum, their dissolution during the leaching phase can release the required sulfate ions for SRMs to produce H2S once hydrogen diffuses and dissolves in the brine at the bottom of the cavern. In this study, a one-dimensional diffusive transport model was developed using PHREEQC to simulate sulfate reduction and H2S generation in a cavern at the gas-brine interface. The solution of Fick's diffusion equation was used to calculate the hydrogen concentration at each level of the 1D model while the kinetic rates of reactions were derived from reported experimental and field site observations of brine samples taken from salt caverns. The results obtained indicated that hydrogen consumption at the gas-brine interface can trigger H2S and methane formations. This is followed by a reduction in sulfate and carbonate concentration and a slight increase in pH due to the reduction of protons in the solution. It was also observed that the presence of Fe2+ ions can reduce the amount of the hydrogen sulfide production while Ca2+ ions slightly favour sulfate reduction due to the production of methane. Although the kinetic reaction rate of the reactions in the model is subject to a certain degree of uncertainty, the workflow and results this study can serve as a guide for the future storage of hydrogen in salt caverns.

Research on energy management strategy for fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles based on improved dynamic programming and air supply optimization

It is crucial to accurately calculate the cost function of the energy management strategy (EMS) of the hybrid powertrain to improve the hydrogen economy of the system. This paper proposes an EMS for fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles (FCHEV) based on improved dynamic programming (DP) and air supply optimization to improve economy and reliability. Taking the maximum net power output of the FC system as the target, the optimal oxygen excess ratio (OER) and cathode pressure of the FC system under different current densities are solved by using PSO. A velocity prediction method based on Bi-LSTM is developed to predict short-term velocity changes in real time. The DP algorithm is introduced and the EMS of the DP algorithm based on short-term velocity prediction is developed for real-time hybrid powertrain optimization and management. Based on the results of energy allocation and optimal gas supply conditions of FCs, the cost function of EMS is modified to reallocate the power of the FC system and battery. The results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves the lowest hydrogen consumption compared to the other two algorithms. Remarkably, it reduces the fuel cost by up to 8.85 % compared to the commonly used online DP algorithm.

Archaeal community composition as key driver of H2 consumption rates at the start-up of the biomethanation process

The performance of hydrogen consumption by various inocula derived from mesophilic anaerobic digestion plants was evaluated under ex situ biomethanation. A panel of 11 mesophilic inocula was operated at a concentration of 15 gVS.L−1 at a temperature of 35 °C in batch system with two successive injections of H2:CO2 (4:1 mol:mol). Hydrogen consumption and methane production rates were monitored from 44 h to 72 h. Hydrogen consumption kinetics varies significantly based on the inoculum origin, with no accumulation of volatile fatty acids. Microbial community analyses revealed that microbial indicators such as the increase in Methanosarcina sp. abundance and the increase of the Archaea/Bacteria ratio were associated to high initial hydrogen consumption rates. The improvement in the hydrogen consumption rate between the two injections was correlated with the enrichment in hydrogenotrophic methanogens. This work provides new insights into the early response of microbial communities to hydrogen injection and on the microbial structures that may favor their adaptation to the biomethanation process.

The online control method of independent DC microgrid based on virtual hydrogen consumption method

AbstractWith the development of distributed generation and power electronics technology, DC microgrids have made certain progress with their advantages of simple structure, economic efficiency, and easy control. Considering factors such as the geographical location of some residential areas, microgrids with fuel cells that can operate independently are also receiving increasing attention. In this paper, an online control method named virtual hydrogen consumption is proposed based on an independent DC microgrid which solves the problem of electro‐hydrogen conversion successfully. By solving the overall consumption function, the analytical solution is further obtained to realize the online control. Based on the results of RT‐LAB platform, the proposed method can maintain the output of fuel cell system in its high efficiency range with a lower volatility.

Research on Power Optimization for Energy System of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Wheel-Driven Electric Tractor

Hydrogen fuel cell tractors are emerging as a new power source for tractors. Currently, there is no mature energy management control method available. Existing methods mostly rely on engineers’ experience to determine the output power of the fuel cell and the power battery, resulting in relatively low energy utilization efficiency of the energy system. To address the aforementioned problems, a power optimization method for the energy system of hydrogen fuel cell wheel-driven electric tractor was proposed. A dynamic model of tractor ploughing conditions was established based on the system dynamics theory. From this, based on the equivalent hydrogen consumption theory, the charging and discharging of the power battery were equivalent to the fuel consumption of the hydrogen fuel cell, forming an equivalent hydrogen consumption model for the tractor. Using the state of charge (SOC) of the power battery as a constraint, and with the minimum equivalent hydrogen consumption as the objective function, an instantaneously optimized power allocation method based on load demand in the energy system is proposed by using a traversal algorithm. The optimization method was simulated and tested based on the MATLAB simulation platform, and the results showed under ploughing conditions, compared with the rule-based control strategy, the proposed energy system power optimization method optimized the power output of hydrogen fuel cells and power batteries, allowing the energy system to work in a high-efficiency range, reducing the equivalent hydrogen consumption of the tractor by 7.79%, and solving the energy system power distribution problem.

Study on the impact of hydrogen storage temperature on iron-based thermochemical hydrogen storage technology

Thermochemical hydrogen storage technology based on iron-based materials has received significant attention owing to its low cost, safety features, and high volumetric hydrogen storage density. However, no consensus has been established on the optimal temperature range for hydrogen storage. This study investigated the impact of hydrogen storage temperature on hydrogen consumption capacity, hydrogen release capacity, and hydrogen storage energy consumption. The hydrogen storage temperature was optimized with the objectives of low energy consumption and high hydrogen storage density. The experiments were conducted using thermogravimetric analyzer and gram-scale packed-bed reactor setups, accompanied by thermodynamic and kinetic calculations. The research indicated that at 550 °C, the optimal hydrogen storage temperature, the lowest relative energy demand was 32.30 %, with the hydrogen consumption capacity reaching the theoretical maximum value of 4.8 %, and the hydrogen release capacity reaching 4.04 %. Furthermore, achieving the theoretical maximum value of hydrogen consumption capacity became exceedingly difficult when the hydrogen storage temperature exceeded 570 °C. Microstructural characterization and kinetic calculations revealed that this phenomenon was attributed to the formation of a dense iron layer on the particle surface, which impeded the solid-state diffusion of oxygen atoms. The formation of the intermediate phase wüstite was identified as the cause of the formation of the dense iron layer. Overall, this study provided theoretical support for iron-based thermochemical hydrogen storage processes and offered a perspective into the reaction behavior of the reduction of magnetite with hydrogen.

Energy Management Strategy for a Net Zero Emission Islanded Photovoltaic Microgrid-Based Green Hydrogen System

Investing in green hydrogen systems has become a global objective to achieve the net-zero emission goal. Therefore, it is seen as the primary force behind efforts to restructure the world’s energy, lessen our reliance on gas, attain carbon neutrality, and combat climate change. This paper proposes a power management for a net zero emission PV microgrid-based decentralized green hydrogen system. The hybrid microgrid combines a fuel cell, battery, PV, electrolyzer, and compressed hydrogen storage (CHSU) unit aimed at power sharing between the total components of the islanded DC microgrid and minimizing the equivalent hydrogen consumption (EHC) by the fuel cell and the battery. In order to minimize the EHC and maintain the battery SOC, an optimization-based approach known as the Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy (ECMS) is used. A rule-based management is used to manage the power consumed by the electrolyzer and the CHSU by the PV system in case of excess power. The battery is controlled by an inverse droop control to regulate the dc bus voltage and the output power of the PV system is maximized by the fuzzy logic controller-based MPPT. As the hybrid microgrid works in the islanded mode, a two-level hierarchical control is applied in order to generate the voltage and the frequency references. The suggested energy management approach establishes the operating point for each system component in order to enhance the system’s efficiency. It allows the hybrid system to use less hydrogen while managing energy more efficiently.

What will be the hydrogen and power demands of the process industry in a climate-neutral Germany?

The defossilization of industry has far-reaching implications regarding the future demand for hydrogen and other forms of energy. This paper presents and applies a fundamental bottom-up model that relies on techno-economic data of industrial production processes. Its aim is to identify, across a range of scenarios, the most cost-effective low-carbon options considering a variety of production systems. Subsequently, it derives the hydrogen and electricity demand that would result from the implementation of these least-cost low-carbon options in process industries in Germany. Aligning with the German government's target year for achieving climate neutrality, this study's reference year is 2045. The primary contribution lies in analyzing which hydrogen-based and direct electrification solutions would be cost-effective for a range of energy price levels under climate-neutral industrial production and what the resulting hydrogen and electricity demand would be. To this end, the methodology of this paper comprises the following steps: selection of the relevant industries (I), definition of conventional reference production systems and their low-carbon options (II), investigation and processing of the techno-economic data of the standardized production systems (III), establishment of a scenario framework (IV), determination of the least-cost low-carbon solution of a conventional reference production system under the scenario assumptions made (V), and estimation of the resulting hydrogen and electricity demand (VI). According to the results, the expected industrial hydrogen consumption in 2045 ranges from 265 TWh for higher hydrogen prices in or above the range of onshore wind-based green hydrogen supply costs, to up to 473 TWh for very low hydrogen prices corresponding to typical blue hydrogen production costs. Meanwhile, the direct electricity consumption of the process industries in the results ranges from 147 TWh for these rather low hydrogen prices to 338 TWh for the higher hydrogen prices in the region of or above the hydrogen supply costs from the electrolysis of energy from an onshore wind farm. Most of the break-even hydrogen prices that are relevant to the choice of low-carbon options are in the range of the benchmark purchase costs for blue hydrogen and green hydrogen produced from offshore wind power, which span between €40 per MWh and €97 per MWh.

Hierarchical Energy Management Strategy Based On M-DQN for Fuel Cell Hybrid Electric Vehicle

For fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles equipped with a fuel cell (FC), battery (BAT), and supercapacitor (UC), this paper proposes a hierarchical energy management strategy (EMS) based on the improved M-DQN algorithm to reduce hydrogen consumption, enhance the efficiency of the FC, and maintain the state of charge (SoC) of the BAT. Firstly, an adaptive fuzzy low-pass filter is employed to achieve the frequency decoupling of power demand, enabling the UC to provide/absorb the peak power demand. Secondly, an energy management framework based on M-DQN is designed, and the concept of an equivalent consumption minimization strategy is applied to construct the reward function, which includes penalty factors related to the efficiency of the FC and SoC deviation of the BAT, aiming at optimizing the power allocation between the FC and BAT. Simulations and platform tests were conducted under various typical driving cycles. The results indicate that, compared with the traditional M-DQN-based EMS, the proposed EMS can significantly maintain the SoC of the BAT, improve the efficiency of the FC, reduce hydrogen consumption, and even achieve an average improvement of 5.2% in fuel economy.