Bilevel Optimal Sizing and Operation Method of Fuel Cell/Battery Hybrid All-Electric Shipboard Microgrid

Abstract

The combination of transportation electrification and clean energy in the shipping industry has been a hot topic, and related applications of hybrid all-electric ships (AESs) have emerged recently. However, it has been found that ship efficiency will be negatively impacted by improper component size and operation strategy. Therefore, the bilevel optimal sizing and operation method for the fuel cell/battery hybrid AES is proposed in this paper. This method optimizes the sizing of the AES while considering joint optimal energy management and voyage scheduling. The sizing problem is formulated at the upper level, and the joint scheduling problem is described at the lower level. Then, multiple cases are simulated to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method on a passenger ferry, and the results show that a 5.3% fuel saving and 5.2% total cost reduction can be achieved. Correspondingly, the ship’s energy efficiency is improved. This approach also can be used in similar vessels to enhance their overall performance and sustainability.