Hydrogen station prognostics and health monitoring model

Abstract

Hydrogen fuel has shown promise as a clean, alternative fuel aiding in the reduction of fossil fuel dependence within the transportation sector. However, hydrogen refueling stations and infrastructure remains a barrier and are a prerequisite for consumer adoption of low-cost and low-emission fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). The costs for FCEV fueling include both station capital costs and operation and maintenance (O&M) costs. Contributing to these O&M costs, unscheduled maintenance is presently more costly and more frequent than for similar gasoline fueling infrastructure and is asserted to be a limiting factor in achieving FCEV customer acceptance and cost parity. Unscheduled maintenance leads to longer station downtime, therefore, causing an increase in missed fueling opportunities, which forces customers to seek refueling at other operable stations that may be significantly farther away. This research proposes a framework for a hydrogen station prognostics health monitoring (H2S PHM) model that can minimize unexpected downtime by predicting the remaining useful life for primary hydrogen station components within the major station subsystems. The H2S PHM model is a data-driven statistical model, based on O&M data collected from 34 retail hydrogen stations located in the U.S. The primary subcomponents studied are the dispenser, compressor, and chiller. The remaining useful life calculations are used to decide whether or not maintenance should be completed based on the prediction and expected future station use. This paper presents the background, method, and results for the H2S PHM model as for a means for improving station availability and customer confidence in FCEVs and hydrogen infrastructure.