Simulation of a stand-alone residential PEMFC power system with sodium borohydride as hydrogen source

Catalytic hydrolysis of sodium borohydride (NaBH4) has been investigated as a method to generate hydrogen for fuel cell applications. The high purity of the generated hydrogen makes this process a potential source of hydrogen for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). In this paper, a PEMFC power system employing a NaBH4 hydrogen generator is designed to supply continuous power to residential power applications as stand-alone loads and simulated using Matlab/Simulink software package. The overall system is sized to meet a real end-use load, representative of standard European domestic medium electric energy consumption, over a 1-week period. Supervisory control strategies are proposed to manage the hydrogen generation and storage, and the power flow. Simulation results show that the proposed supervisory control strategies are effective and the NaBH4–PEMFC power system is a technologically feasible solution for stand-alone residential applications.

► A NaBH4–PEMFC power system is configured for stand-alone residential applications.
► The proposed integrated system is shown to be technically feasible.
► Overall supervisory control strategy is effective in meeting a real loading demand.