Control and real-time optimization of an automotive hybrid fuel cell power system

A real-time optimization method is used to find the point of maximum fuel efficiency of a hybrid fuel cell power system, in an automotive application. The controller performs as the master control in cascade with lower level controls. The lower level controls distribute the power between the ultra-capacitor and the fuel cell, during transients, to find the optimum operating point of the power system. The ultra-capacitor is used to protect fuel cell health and improve phase characteristics of the system. In simulations, the controller is able to find the optimum operating point for the hybrid system without requiring previous knowledge of the system dynamics or explicit representation of the optimization function.