Design of stand-alone proton exchange membrane fuel cell hybrid system under Amman climate

Abstract

Renewable energy application is gaining a wide acceptance by end users; however, considering the fact that renewable energy is intermittent, variable and cannot be predicted, the need of storage systems is becoming a necessity at both micro and macro levels. Fuel cell technology is one of the most promising storage systems due to the fact that hydrogen has high energy density. This paper presents a design of stand-alone PV-PEMFC hybrid system for a small house under Amman climate. The simulation results show that the optimal size of PV array, fuel cell (PEMFC), inverter, electrolyzer (ELE) and H2 Tank capacity were 10 kW, 1 kW, 5 kW, 6 kW, and 5 kg respectively. Hydrogen proved itself as a low carbon energy source, which is environmental friendly and characterized with high energy content per unit mass. Due to fuel cells technology, hydrogen can be used for inter-season storage.