Lima R.J.S., de Almeida A.T., Mendes A.M.S., Mendes A.M.S., Cardoso A.J.M.
University of Coimbra, PT
Keywords: fuel cells, passive filters, power quality, PWM inverters
There is a variety of critical loads, such as information technology, telecommunication, medical equipment and industrial process controls, which require high power quality. Conventional approaches to provide high power quality levels include battery based uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) and emergency generators, using in most case fossil fuels. Systems that use fuel cells as electric energy sources are starting to be seen as a possibility for onsite energy production since they can work with high efficiency and without harmful emissions. In this work it is proposed a structure of a fuel cell system composed by a GenCoreTM proton exchange membrane (PEM) 5kW Fuel Cell system from Plug Power and a single-phase inverter, which can operate both as an off-grid system or as a back-up system in a high power quality system. The innovative system couples the PEM fuel cell with a high performance inverter system based on a single-phase PWM inverter, composed by four IGBT power switches, a step-up power transformer and a LC output filter.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: Technical Proceedings of the 2008 Clean Technology Conference and Trade Show
Published: June 1, 2008
Pages: 517 - 520
Industry sector: Energy & Sustainability
Topic: Water Technologies
ISBN: 1-4200-8502-0