Optimal load sharing strategy in a hybrid power system based on PV/Fuel Cell/ Battery/Supercapacitor

This paper presents an optimal load sharing strategy for a PV/FC/battery/supercap hybrid power system that optimizes the system performance. The fuel cell is used to complement the intermittent output of the PV source while the battery storage is used to compensate for part of the temporary peak demand which the PV and fuel cell can´t meet thus avoiding oversizing of fuel cell. Supercapacitor energy storage is employed to relieve the battery of narrow and repeated transient charging and discharging ensuring longer battery life. Both the battery and the supercapacitor cover the slow power response of the fuel cell. A power flow control strategy is developed and simulation results are presented to demonstrate its effectiveness.