PEM Electrolyzer Digital Replica based on internal resistance determination applied to hydrogen energy storage

Abstract

The rise of hydrogen as an energy storage means and its associated technologies have prompted the implementation of hydrogen generation systems based on electrolyzers. Electrolyzers exhibit complex behaviour and their implementation is not immediate, leading to the use of tools such as Digital Replicas (DR) for their study. This paper presents a DR for a Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzer (PEMEL) through the development of an Equivalent Circuit Model (ECM) that describes the static behaviour of the individual cells comprising it. This research is focused on contributing to hydrogen generation with the main objective of using this energy vector for energy storage applications. For this purpose, an installation consisting of a PEMEL and a set of auxiliary equipment required for its proper operation and for measuring key electrolyzer parameters such as current, voltage, hydrogen flow rate, temperature, etc. is implemented. Furthermore, a Data Acquisition System (DAQ) is available to collect process information for later analysis. The PEM cell model is obtained through an experimental process based on the determination of internal resistance to calculate the remaining key parameters. The successful functioning and suitability of the DR and developed model are reported through experimental data obtained from the PEMEL under operating conditions.