Modeling in Matlab / Simulink of Clean Hydrogen
Production using PV Panel for sustainable use
Arafet Bouaicha, Hatem Allegui and Abdelkader
2021 International Conference on Control, Automation and Diagnosis (ICCAD) | 978-1-6654-4968-7/21/$31.00 ©2021 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/ICCAD52417.2021.9638773
Mami
LAPER - Faculty of Sciences of Tunis
University Tunis El Manar
Tunis, Tunisia
arafet.bouaicha@fst.utm.tn
Abstract—Hydrogen presents a clean energy source for the
environment; its production must be advantageous by using
clean energy converters. In this paper, we present the
Matlab/Similink modeling of a clean hydrogen production system
which consists of water electrolyzes coupled with a PV panel
system. Hydrogen is produced by the chemical process of water
electrolysis. The necessary current is supplied by a photovoltaic
system. Simulation of Matlab/Simulink is to provide an electrical
model of the water electrolysis and the PV panel system. The
obtained results are the current-voltage characteristics I-V of the
hydrogen production system. This hydrogen will then be stored
in a tank to be used by a PEM fuel cell to power an electric load
at any time. This system is advantageous so that it allows us to
have stable electrical energy during the period of darkness or
poor irradiance.
Keywords—Hydrogen, Water Electrolysis, Photovoltaic System,
Modeling, Matlab/Simulink.
I. INTRODUCTION
Energy demand is constantly growing and economic
growth has become synonymous with very high energy
consumption. This energy consumption has been an advantage
and is still possible due to fossil fuel reserves. Given all the
difficulties, greater exploitation of a new axis of power and
transformation of the energy sector proves indispensable.
Renewable energies currently represent a limited success of the
energy currently used. For this, the use of hydrogen as a clean
renewable energy vector currently appears to be a very
promising solution for the future.
Hydrogen is the chemical element most existing in the
universe. It is a simple, gaseous atom which is used in
particular in the composition of water. To better explain,
hydrogen is not a direct energy source but an energy vector, it
is used for example in a PEM fuel cell to generate electric
energy. Hydrogen does not exist in pure form; to produce it,
chemical processes must be used to separate the hydrogen from
the elements with which it is associated, and this requires an
energy source [1][2]. Hydrogen can thus be manufactured by
steam reforming of natural gas, electrolysis of water,
gasification and pyrolysis of biomass, thermo-chemical or
photochemical decomposition of water, organic production
from algae or bacteria. Hydrogen is considered as a sustainable
means of energy storage. For this, we can store excess
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El-Hassane Aglzim
University of Burgundy, DRIVE Laboratory
DRIVE EA1859, Univ. Bourgogne Franche Comté, F58000
Nevers, France
renewable energy to be able to use it later, which is not
possible with electrical power. It is a huge investment allowing
integrating more renewable axis in energy consumption.
In this work, we present the different stages of the study for
modeling using Matlab/Simulink of clean hydrogen production
for PEM fuel cell using a clean energy source; this source
comes from a photovoltaic panel system. This paper is divided
into five main sections. Section 1 is an introduction to this
work. Section 2 explains the theoretical study of water
electrolysis and its modeling. In section 3, we will present the
study of the photovoltaic panel modeling for production of
clean hydrogen. Section 4 is the development using modeling
of clean hydrogen production system as well the presentation
of the work results to validate this modeling of the clean
hydrogen production system. We will end this paper with the
conclusion.
II. MODELING WATER ELECTROLYSIS
To produce hydrogen for a fuel cell, there are various
methods. One of the oldest is the water electrolysis; the electric
current causes the decomposition of water and formation of
hydrogen and oxygen. This method requires having a power
source.
The decomposition of water using electrolysis process is
written in a comprehensive manner:
1 (1)
H 2O → H 2 + O 2
2
With a dissociation enthalpy of water is ∆H = 285 kJ/mole
[1] [2].
This decomposition requires an electric supply, mainly
dependent on the reaction enthalpy and entropy. The
theoretical potential for decomposition is 1.481V at 298K.
Typical values of potential industrial cells are in the range of
1.7 to 2.1V, corresponding to 70 to 85% electrolysis efficiency
[1-3]. However, several electrolyzers can be connected in
series or in parallel. Fig. 1 shows the principle of water
electrolysis.

Fig. 1. Principle of water electrolysis
At the anode (positive electrical terminal), an oxidation
reaction occurs; oxygen is collected according to the following
reaction [4] [5]:
2 H 2 O → O 2 + 4e − + 4 H + (2)
At the cathode (negative electrical terminal), a reduction
reaction occurs; hydrogen is collected according to the
following reaction [4] [5]:
2 H 2O + 2e − → H 2 + 2 H − (3)
The reversible potential Erev reflects the thermodynamic
effect of electrochemical reaction. For an ambient temperature
of 25°C, reversible potential is 1.23V [4-7]. The Nernst
equation of water electrolysis is represented by the equation
(4).
R .T
E rev = E 0 + . ln( PH 2 .( PO 2 ) 1 / 2 )
n.F
With:
• E0: Standard voltage for standard conditions (1 bar,
25°C).
• R: Constant of perfect gases equal to 8.314472 J/K/mol.
• T: Operating temperature in K.
• PH2, PO2: Partial pressures of H2 and O2 in bar.
When the electrolyzer consumes a current through the
electrodes, the potential across the electrolyzer is higher than is
the ideal potential (Erev), this is due to the different voltage
losses generally called polarization. This potential is given
using the following relation [5-7]:
V el = E rev + η act + η ohm
With:
• Vel: Real voltage of a unit electrolyzer.
• ηact: Activation polarization of anode and cathode.
• ηohm: Ohmic polarization of anode and cathode.
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Then, the ohmic losses in an electrolyzer verify Ohm's law
that:
η ohm = R m .I
(6)
With Rm represents the equivalent resistance between the
electrodes.
The supply voltage of the series stack of an electrolyzer can
be given as:
U Stack = N el .V el = N el .( E rev + η act + η ohm ) (7)
With Nel is the number of cells in the electrolyzer series
stack.
In a simplified electrical model, we will integrate the
necessary equations in Matlab/Simulink for the hydrogen
production system to calculate the voltage, current and energy
needed to produce clean hydrogen. To produce one mole of
dihydrogen, you need 2 moles of electrons, which corresponds
to an amount of electricity corresponding to:
Q (C ) = I ( A ) ⋅ t ( s ) = 2 N A ⋅ q (8)
With the Avogadro constant: NA = 6.022 1023 mol-1 and q
is the charge of the electron (q = 1.6 10-19 C).
The electrical model of the electrolyzer using
Matlab/Simulink is represented by Fig. 2.
(4)
(5)
Fig. 2. Simplified electrical model using Matlab/Simulink of water
electrolyzer.
This electric model integrates the various parameters
required for outputting the voltage and current necessary to
trace us the current-voltage characteristic I-V of the
electrolyzer.
 III. MODELING OF THE PHOTOVOLTAIC PANEL SYSTEM The electric model of this PV panel system under
To extract hydrogen through the water electrolysis Matlab/Simulink is represented by Fig. 4.
chemical phenomenon, we need a source of electrical energy.
In order to produce clean hydrogen, you need a clean energy
source, for this purpose, we use photovoltaic panels which are
a transformation of solar energy into electrical energy.
Fig. 3 represents the equivalent diagram of the electric
model of a photovoltaic cell under solar irradiance. It
corresponds to an Iph current generator mounted in parallel
with a diode. Two parasitic resistances are introduced in this
scheme [8-11].

Fig. 3. Electric model of photovoltaic cell.

These resistors have a certain influence on the current-

voltage characteristic I-V of the cell [11] [12]. The resistor (Rs) Fig. 4. Electric model under Matlab/Simulink of the PV Panel system
is the internal resistance of the cell; it depends on the resistance SHT60P6-265.
of the semiconductor used, the resistance and contact resistivity
collector grids. The shunt resistor (Rsh) is due to a leakage This electric model integrates the various parameters
current at the junction. necessary for outputting the voltage Vpv and current Ipv
necessary to trace us the PV panel I-V characteristic. It is used
 q (V ph + Rs I pv )  V pv + R s I pv in our global modeling system for clean hydrogen production
(9)
I pv = I ph − I 0 exp( − 1 − using the water electrolysis chemical process.
 nKT  R sh
IV. MODELING OF CLEAN HYDROGEN PRODUCTION SYSTEM
With I0 is the saturation current, K is the Boltzmann FOR FUEL CELL
constant (1.381 10-23 J/K), T is the effective temperature of the
In order to evaluate the operation of the different stages
cells in K, q is the charge of the electron (1.6 10-19 C), n is the
modeling using Matlab/Simulink of the hydrogen production
ideality factor of the junction, Ipv is the current supplied by the
system for a PEM fuel cell, we present in this part of the work
cell when it operates as a generator, Vpv is the voltage across
the entire production chain which is a succession of energy
the same cell, Iph is the photocurrent of the cell depending on
transformations. Fig. 5 shows a block diagram of the clean
the irradiance and temperature or current (short circuit), Rsh is
hydrogen production system for a PEM fuel cell.
the shunt resistor characterizing leakage current of the junction,
Rs is the series resistance representing the various contact
resistances and connections [11-15].
For the PV panel system used in this work, we have chosen
to model using Matlab/Simulink a PV panel whose technical
and electrical characteristics are presented by the following
Table1. These values of electrical characteristics are taken for
1000W/m2 irradiance and a temperature of 25°C [16].

TABLE I. ELECTRICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PV

PANEL.
Fig. 5. Synoptic diagram of the clean hydrogen production system for a PEM
SHT60P6-265 fuel cell.
Maximum Power Pmax 265 W
Open-circuit Voltage Voc 38.00 V Solar energy is transformed into electrical energy using the
Short- circuit Current Isc 9.19 A
PV panel system to produce a current and a voltage in order to
Maximum Power
Point Voltage
Vmpp 31.90 V use it by the electrolyzer to produce clean hydrogen using the
Maximum Power point water electrolysis chemical process. The electrolyzer can
Impp 8.30 A convert electrical energy into chemical energy which will be
Current
Cell technology Poly-Si then stored in the hydrogen tank of a PEM fuel cell to power an
Dimensions 1650 mm x 993 mm x 35 mm

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 electrical load at any time. The advantage of this system design
is to ensure stable voltage and current during the period of
darkness or poor sunshine. The electric model of the clean
hydrogen production system using Matlab/Simulink is
represented by the Fig. 6.
Fig. 6. Electric model using Matlab/Simulink of the clean hydrogen
production system.
This electric model integrates the different parameters of
the PV panel system model and the electric model of the
electrolyzer. In this model, we can simulate the operating
principle of the PV panel chosen previously connected with the
electrolyzer model in order to simulate the requirement current
and voltage to produce clean hydrogen. Fig. 7 shows the curves
of the I-V and P-V characteristics of the SHT60P6-265 [16] PV
panel system.
Fig. 7. I-V and P-V characteristics of the PV module SHT60P6-265.
This photovoltaic module is considered as a power source
where the power to be Pm maximum point to produce a
maximum hydrogen for the PEM fuel cell, it is interesting to
put on that to get the most energy and the most of the peak
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power installed. Fig. 8 shows the form of the I-V characteristic
curve of the water electrolyzer electrical model using
Matlab/Simulink.
Fig. 8. I-V characteristic of the water electrolyzer model.
This module of the water electrolyzer is considered to be an
electrical load that must be supplied with a voltage and current
to produce clean hydrogen, we increase the current
consumption to produce hydrogen so we need more electrical
voltage at the water electrolyzer system.
V. CONCLUSION
Using renewable energies, we can consider that the clean
hydrogen production for PEM fuel cell using the water
electrolysis chemical process becomes advantageous. This
study represents a Matlab/Simulink modeling of a clean
hydrogen production system.
In this paper, we presented at the beginning the electric
model of the water electrolysis phenomenon which is the
essential element of the clean hydrogen production, then we
presented the PV panel system electric model which is the
clean source to supply voltage and current to the water
electrolyzer system. We have modeled using Matlab/Simulink
the hydrogen production system by the electric models
presented in order to obtain the I-V characteristics results of
each model and analyze the interactions between the models of
the two systems which are the PV panel system and the water
electrolyzer system. The I-V characteristic obtained will be
validated by an experimental work based on an electrolyzer in
order to measure the quantity of hydrogen produced and then to
supply a Nexa PEM fuel cell.
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