Cleaner Engineering and Technology 4 (2021) 100241

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Cleaner Engineering and Technology

journal homepage: www.sciencedirect.com/journal/cleaner-engineering-and-technology

Unitized regenerative proton exchange membrane fuel cell system for

renewable power and hydrogen generation: Modelling, simulation, and a
case study
C. Ogbonnaya a, c, *, C. Abeykoon b, A. Nasser a, A. Turan d
a
Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, The University of Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
b
Aerospace Research Institute, Department of Materials, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13 9PL, UK
c
Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, P.M.B. 1010, Nigeria
d
Independent Researcher, Manchester, Lancashire, M22 4ES, United Kingdom

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Unitized regenerative proton exchange membrane fuel cell (URPEMFC) performs the functions of an electrolyser
Power hysteresis effect and a fuel cell. Currently, power hysteresis effect (PHE) is a key technological challenge for the URPEMFC
Unitized regenerative proton exchange because it reduces the efficiency of the system as it switches from electrolyser mode to fuel cell mode and vice
membrane fuel cells
versa. Here, a modelling and simulation approach is used to investigate the PHE based on its thermodynamic and
Modelling and simulation
Hydrogen energy
electrochemical attributes. URPEMFC model was validated against an experimental study and then used for
Zero emission parametric studies. The results indicate that the PHE occurs when the number of cells is 1, 5 and 10. Moreover,
Photovoltaic an increase in the lost internal current density and total resistance resulted in an increase in overpotentials of the
system. Although the theoretical thermodynamic efficiency of a URPEMFC is about 68.86%, the current study
predicted an efficiency of 44% for a stack of 10 cells at current density of 0.5 A cm− 2. A case study of an in­
tegrated photovoltaic-URPEMFC system for power generation using actual meteorological data is also presented.
If optimised, URPEMFC can be applied with renewable energy sources for power-to-gas technologies, power-to-
power technologies, hydrogen filling stations or distributed hybrid energy systems.

1. Introduction (Ogden, 1999). Thus, the limitations posed by current means of

Hydrogen presents an opportunity for sustainable energy generation
particularly in conjunction with renewable energy sources such as solar
energy and feedstocks such as water or biomass (Dinçer and Joshi,
2013). Hydrogen exists in nature in organic (coal, oil, gas, biomass, etc)
and inorganic (water) compounds because of its high reactivity. The
imminent “hydrogen economy” (Muradov and Veziroǧ;lu, 2005) in
which energy supply would depend on hydrogen is attractive because
the combustion of hydrogen produces water and heat, which will not
have a substantial adverse environmental impact. This implies that the
anthropogenic impact of fossil fuel production (Umar et al., 2021) and
combustion including pollution, global warming and climate change can
be ameliorated by using renewable hydrogen-based energy systems.
However, there are current issues with the storage and transportation of
hydrogen from the point of production to the end-users; hence, the
so-called “hydrogen economy” still faces huge infrastructural challenges
hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and utilisation are current
issues (Abdalla et al., 2018).
Nevertheless, the ubiquity of renewable energy sources particularly
solar energy and the future direction of solar hydrogen indicates that
hydrogen can be produced using distributed systems such that hydrogen
can be generated at the location where it is needed (Aouali et al., 2014),
without relying on a central hydrogen infrastructure. Currently, steam
reforming process and water gas shift reaction using feedstocks such as
gas, oil, coal, and biomass remain the major sources of hydrogen pro­
duction (Izquierdo et al., 2012). Gnanapragasam et al. (2010) proposed
that carbon capture can be used to reduce the emission of CO2 during
hydrogen production through coal gasification. Nowadays, in order to
reduce the associated greenhouse gas emissions from hydrogen pro­
duction using fossil fuels, the use of renewable resources and environ­
ment friendly feedstocks have become subjects of intensive research
(Joshi et al., 2011).

* Corresponding author. Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, The University of Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
E-mail address: chukwuma.ogbonnaya@manchester.ac.uk (C. Ogbonnaya).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clet.2021.100241
Received 14 October 2020; Received in revised form 8 June 2021; Accepted 6 August 2021
Available online 8 August 2021
2666-7908/© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
C. Ogbonnaya et al.
Proton exchange membrane electrolyser (PEME) is a source of pure
hydrogen gas; and it appears “complementary” to proton exchange
membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) (Spiegel et al., 2007) for power generation.
They can be integrated in a discrete reversible proton exchange mem­
brane fuel cell (DRPEMFC) system, in which a PEME and a PEMFC are
separate components of the system with sources such as photovoltaic
modules (Meurer et al., 1999) or wind turbines (Bukar and Tan, 2019).
Ogbonnaya et al. (2019b) demonstrated that the energy and exergy ef­
ficiencies of integrated photovoltaic-based energy systems depend on
the efficiency of the processes in the components. Shapiro et al. (2005)
showed that electrolysers and fuel cells can be integrated with solar
energy for sustainable power generation. Unlike DRPEMFC systems in
which the fuel cell and the electrolysers are distinct components, a
unitized regenerative (or reversible) proton exchange membrane fuel
cell (URPEMFC) system is such that the functions of PEME and PEMFC
are in-built in a unified component so that the system can be switched to
either electrolyser mode (EL mode) or fuel cell mode (FC mode)
(Mitlitsky et al., 1999). This close coupling reduces the cost and
complexity of a URPEMFC system compared to a DRPEMFC system,
while improving the integrated efficiency of the system (Mitlitsky et al.,
1999). Chávez-Ramírez et al. (2013) showed that there is a possibility of
integrating URPEMFC with PV modules and wind turbine for power
generation.
Based on its electrochemistry, a URPEMFC system acts like an elec­
trolytic cell in the EL mode because it uses electrical energy to split/
dissociate water into hydrogen and oxygen. Conversely, it acts like a
galvanic cell in FC mode because it generates electrical energy by
recombining hydrogen and oxygen. In the 1990s, a prototype of
URPEMFC system was produced (Mitlitsky et al., 1999). Since then,
there has been a renewed research efforts including experimental study
focusing on URPEMFC component (Rabih et al., 2008); and how to
advance the functionality of URPEMFC systems in conjunction with
renewable energy sources in order to achieve zero emission during
operation (Doddathimmaiah and Andrews, 2006). Guarnieri et al.
(2015) developed a zero-dimensional numerical model to assess the
steady-state electrical performance of a URPEMFC as a function of
variations in temperature, gas humidification and pressure. Yuan et al.
(2019) investigated the voltage response of a URPEMFC system and
concluded that current transition during mode switching had a great
influence on cell voltage. Li et al. (2018) found out that the voltage of a
URPEMFC increases as the temperature increases in FC mode. Although
the URPEMFC system has prospects in the upcoming hydrogen econ­
omy, there are still technological challenges that should be addressed
before the system can be fully commercialized.
Grigoriev et al. (2011) reported that the nominal power and voltage
of a URPEMFC system in EL mode is 1562 W and 12.2 V while the
nominal power and voltage in FC mode is 492 W and 3.85 V, respec­
tively. Based on the nominal power, 31.5% of the electrical power
consumed in the EL mode is produced in the FC mode. For a current
density of 0.5 Acm− 2 for each mode, the mean cell voltage for EL mode is
1.74 V while the voltage for the FC mode is 0.55 V. Guo et al. (2019)
observed that mode switching affected the electrical performance of a
URPEMFC system and that the heat and mass transfer processes
increased the total response time. They observed that 4 s was required to
reach a new balanced state after switching. Although it is not thermo­
dynamically feasible for equal amount of power consumed in the EL
mode to be produced in the FC mode due to the second law of ther­
modynamics, reducing the difference between the power consumed in
the EL mode and the power produced in the FC mode can translate into
higher integrated efficiency. Rabih et al. (2008) observed that there was
a hysteresis effect as a URPEMFC system switched from FC mode to EL
mode, and vice versa. The hysteresis effect occurred as they increased
the current from 0 to 950 mA (“up-scanning”), followed by decreasing
the current from 950 mA to − 300 mA (“down-scanning”); and finally
increasing the current from − 300 mA to 0 mA (“up-scanning”). Dhar
(1993) showed that current reduces with repeated cycling of EL and FC
2
Cleaner Engineering and Technology 4 (2021) 100241
modes possibly because of the entrapment of gases, drying of the in­
terfaces, loosening of the membrane, and wetting of the electrode
backing. Regardless of the sources of power hysteresis in a URPEMFC
system, it is imperative to reduce it so that the integrated (or round trip)
efficiency of the system can be improved. Thus, this study investigates
the power hysteresis effect (PHE) based on the thermodynamic and
electrochemical characteristics of URPEMFC system to further gain in­
sights into the phenomenon.
1.1. Description of a URPEMFC system
Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a URPEMFC system. The oper­
ations of URPEMFC system has been demonstrated in a previous study
(Burke and Jakupca, 2004). In the EL mode, direct current (DC) elec­
trical energy dissociates water so that hydrogen gas can be collected at
the negative electrode and stored in a tank. The stored hydrogen is
reversibly retrieved from the tank in an FC mode so that it can be ionised
at a bifunctional electrode (Zhigang et al., 1999) to produce electrons
(e− )and protons (H+ ). On the other hand, oxygen produced in the EL
mode at the positive electrode is stored and can be reversibly retrieved
for oxidising H+ in FC mode. URPEMFC systems can also use air but
oxygen has better diffusivity and reactivity because it contains no im­
purity. In the FC mode, the membrane allows H+ alone to pass through
while the electrons (e− ) are forced to flow through the anode plate
through the current collector to supply electricity to the load; but it
returns into the cell through the cathode plate. The reactions proceed
continuously if water and electrical energy are supplied in EL mode
while hydrogen and oxygen are supplied in the FC mode. A URPEMFC
system uses switching device to change from EL, FC or OFF modes
depending on the operating circumstances. The power, control,
communication, and health monitoring components are critical in
managing the reliability and operational efficiency of the system (Burke
and Jakupca, 2004). The health monitoring devices ensures that the
operating temperature, pressure, reactants, water flooding and power
quality are continuously monitored. The system design configuration
depends on the end-user requirements and its role in an integrated
system.
There are three major potential application areas that underscores
the significance of the advancement of URPEMFC technologies.
(a) Power-to-gas technologies: A URPEMFC system can be inte­
grated with smart grids so that excess generation of electricity can
be used to generate hydrogen (Comission, 2006). This requires
hydrogen storage. The hydrogen produced from a power-to-gas
Fig. 1. Schematic model of the URPEMFC system (Burke and Jakupca, 2004).
C. Ogbonnaya et al. Cleaner Engineering and Technology 4 (2021) 100241

system can be used for multiple applications such as in hydrogen
combustion engines, distributed hydrogen filling stations,
distributed power generation, gas distribution systems, chemical
synthesis of hydrocarbon such as methane (Gahleitner, 2013).
(b) Renewable energy systems: A URPEMFC system can be inte­
grated with renewable energy sources (Lu et al., 2016) for
power-to-power applications (Ogbonnaya et al., 2021). A
URPEMFC system converts renewable energy sources into
hydrogen as energy vector; so that it can provide long-term en­
ergy storage contrary to the short-term energy storage obtainable
with batteries/supercapacitors. A 2.5 kW integrated system that
used a PV module and a micro-wind turbine, battery and
URPEMFC system for stand-alone application was designed and
installed in Mexico (Chávez-Ramírez et al., 2013).
(c) Hybrid or integrated energy systems: This involves the use of a
URPEMFC system as a subsystem in an integrated system to
provide either hydrogen or power to the components at the
downstream. It can be applied as a back-up power source in boats
or ships, automobiles, drones, aircraft to generate power using
water as the feedstock and solar or wind energy. An integrated
efficiency of 33% and specific energy storage of 500 Wh kg− 1 has
been reported of a URPEMFC system for spacecraft applications
for the purpose of reducing the total weight of the aircraft.
The aims of this study are to investigate the power hysteresis effect
(PHE) in URPEMFC system and assess the performance of an integrated
photovoltaic-URPEMFC system. A deeper understanding of the inherent
PHE in the URPEMFC system is crucial in advancing its design innova­
tion and performance improvement for diverse applications. To sys­
tematically achieve the aims of this study, the specific objectives are to:
validated using a study by Grigoriev et al. (2011). Then, parametric
studies were performed to investigate the effect of the operating vari­
ables on the URPEMFC system as visualised using polarisation curves
and PHL. Based on system theory (White, 2015), a PV array and a bat­
tery bank is combined with a URPEMFC component to study how the
integrated system will perform based on actual meteorological data.
Table 1 shows the design and operating parameters used for modelling
and optimising the URPEMFC model.
3. Theory of hysteresis, modelling and validation of a URPEMFC
stack
In science and engineering, phenomena involving mechanisms, cy­
cles, reactions, or processes that appear to exhibit the notion of “irre­
versibility” are often modelled as a hysteresis (Bertotti and Mayergoyz,
2006). Hysteresis is an analogue phenomenon between a system input
and output, and it is found in physics (e.g. plasticity, friction, ferro­
magnetism, ferroelectricity, superconductivity, etc), chemistry, biology,
engineering, and even in economics (Visintin, 2006). Hysteresis effect
has been investigated in porous electrodes (Kuzmin et al., 2012). Hou
(2011) has reported the occurrence of hysteresis phenomenon in PEMFC
component based on the measurement of polarisation effects during
galvanostatic step sweep. The Preisach model has been adopted over the
years because it includes the sum of infinite Preisach operator that de­
scribes a classical hysteresis model (Kozlov, 2002). Rate-dependent
hysteresis can also be seen as a dynamic lag between an input and
Table 1
Design and operating parameters for the URPEMFC.
Parameters Values Units Reference

1. Develop a numerical model of a URPEMFC system in order to study Reversible potential of URPEMFC 1.23 V Kelly (2014)
Number of cells in the stack 10 Authors Input
the PHE.
Active cell area 100 cm2 Authors Input
2. Simulate the effect of changes in the operating variables on the Cell current density (iFC ​ mode ) 0.5 Acm− 2
Grigoriev et al.
performance of a URPEMFC system. (2011)
3. Study a case of an integrated Photovoltaic-URPEMFC (PV-
2
Cell current density (iEL ​ mode ) 0.5 Acm− Grigoriev et al.
(2011)
URPEMFC) system using actual meteorological data.
Mean stack voltage at EL mode 59 V Model predicted
Mean stack voltage at FC mode 18 V Model predicted
The originality of this study is realised in the novel visualisation of Mean stack power consumed at EL 3090 W Model predicted
the effect of PHE in a URPEMFC system. This study extends the under­ mode
standing of the links between power consumption and generation as a Mean stack power produced at FC 728 W Model predicted
mode
URPEMFC system balances hydrogen generation and consumption. The
Temperature of (TURPEMFC ) 353.15 K Sharaf and Orhan
major contribution of this study is underscored by the new relevance (2014)
that will be accorded to power hysteresis loop (PHL) as a means of Anode activation constant (Aanode ) 0.0304 V Sharaf and Orhan
visualising the effects of the design and operating variables on the per­ (2014)
formance of a URPEMFC system. PHE can facilitate the evaluation of the Cathode activation constant 0.0507 V Sharaf and Orhan
(Acathode ) (2014)
effects of electrochemical engineering design, energy and mass transfer, 2
Lost internal current density (iloss ) 0.008 Acm− Sharaf and Orhan
fluid dynamics, electrochemistry, and catalysis of a URPEMFC system. (2014)
Furthermore, this study presents a preliminary case study on the per­ Anode exchange current density 0.15 Acm− 2
Sharaf and Orhan
formance of an integrated PV-URPEMFC system based on actual mete­ (io,anode ) (2014)
orological data. Henceforth, Section 2 describes the research method Area specific ion resistance (Rion ) 0.01 Ωm− 2
Sharaf and Orhan
and approach adopted for this study. Section 3 presents the theory of (2014)
2
Area specific contact resistance 0.03 Ωm− Sharaf and Orhan
hysteresis, mathematical modelling of the PHE and a validation of the
(RCR ) (2014)
URPEMFC model while Section 4 discusses the results generated from
Anode empirical constant (Banode ) 0.0152 V Authors Input
the parametric studies. Section 5 presents a case study of an integrated
Cathode empirical constant 0.0152 V Authors Input
PV-URPEMFC system for power generation while Section 6 highlights (Bcathode )
the prospects and limitations of a PV-URPEMFC system. Eventually, Anode limiting current density 15 Acm− 2
Sharaf and Orhan
Section 7 presents the conclusions and recommendation for further (il,anode ) (2014)
study. Cathode limiting current density 2.5 Acm− 2
Sharaf and Orhan
(il,cathode ) (2014)
2. Research method and approach Hydrogen partial pressure in (PH2 ) 1 atm Spiegel (2008)
Water partial pressure (PH2 O ) 1 atm Spiegel (2008)
In this study, a URPEMFC system is modelled and simulated using Oxygen partial pressure (PO2 ) 0.21 atm Spiegel (2008)
MATLAB software. The model coupled the electrochemical and ther­ Gas constant (R) 8.3145 Jmol− 1K− 1
Spiegel (2008)
modynamic characteristics of URPEMFC system to investigate the phe­ Faraday’s constant (F) 96485 Cmol− 1 Spiegel (2008)
Number of electrons (n) 2 Spiegel (2008)
nomenon of PHE. After coupling the mathematical model, it was

3
C. Ogbonnaya et al.
output that disappears if the input is varied more slowly (Bertotti and
Mayergoyz, 2006). Contextually, the PHE produces a PHL that starts
with water dissociation and ends with water formation, regardless of the
design geometry of the URPEMFC system.
The compendium of theoretical models for the mathematical
modelling of PEM technologies include Gibbs free energy theory,
Faraday law of electrolysis, Nernst equation, Tafel equation, Butler-
Volmer equation, laws of thermodynamics, electrochemical polar­
isation model (Spiegel, 2008) and theory of hysteresis (Bertotti and
Mayergoyz, 2006). Winterbone and Turan (2015) described Gibbs free
energy as the available energy to do maximum external work. Ther­
modynamically, enthalpy is the sum of the Gibbs free energy and energy
associated with the entropy of the system. Nernst equation predicts the
maximum theoretical voltage of the EL and FC modes if there were no
activation, Ohmic and concentration (or transport) overpotentials in the
system. Consequently, more electrical energy is required above the
theoretical prediction in the EL mode while less electrical energy is
produced in the FC mode compared to theoretical prediction. In order to
delineate the scope of the mathematical modelling, the following as­
sumptions have been made: (a) The overpotentials in the components
were categorised into activation, Ohmic or concentration (or transport)
overpotentials; (b) The laws of thermodynamics and electrochemistry
were obeyed; (c) The laws of conservation of mass and energy were
obeyed; (d) There was no crossover of electrons via the membrane under
EL mode and FC mode; (e) Steady state condition was assumed; (f) Mole
balance at the positive and negative electrodes were conserved and (g)
Ideal gas behaviour was assumed.
Under an ideal Faradaic efficiency, the amount of hydrogen gener­
ated in the EL mode is twice the volume of oxygen while the amount of
hydrogen consumed in the FC mode is twice the volume of oxygen as
shown in Fig. 2. A minimum of 1.23 V is applied across the electrodes at
298 K and 1 bar to split water at a standard enthalpy of 285.8 kJ mol− 1
(Kelly, 2014). In the reverse reaction, hydrogen and oxygen are com­
bined in the FC mode in the presence of electrocatalyst to generate
electricity.
As shown in Eq. (1) and (2), the change in the Gibbs free energy is
expected to favour hydrogen production in the EL mode through elec­
trolysis while the change in the Gibbs free energy favours the formation
of water in the FC mode through an oxidation of hydrogen.
[ ]
2H2 O(l) + electricity ​ + heat → 2H2(g) + ​ O2(g) ΔGoEL = + nFEo (1)
[ ]
2H2(g) + O2(g) → 2H2 O(l) + ​ electricity + heat ΔGoFC = − nFEo (2)
The reversible potential (Erev ) of the EL mode is the theoretical po­
tential required by a URPEMFC system if there were no losses and
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the EL and FC modes of a URPEMFC system.
4
Cleaner Engineering and Technology 4 (2021) 100241
irreversibilities. On the other hand, in the FC mode, Erev is the open
circuit voltage (OCV) assuming that there were no losses and irrevers­
ibilities. This implies that the overpotentials due to activation ( Eacttotal ),
Ohmic ( EOhmtotal )and concentration losses ( EConctotal ) are mathemati­
cally added to Nernst potential (Eq. (3)) to get the net potential differ­
ence (or voltage) of the URPEMFC system in the EL mode but deducted
in the FC mode (Eq. (4)).
( )
RT PH2 O
ENersnt, ​ EL = Erev + + log 0.5
+ Eact total + EOhmtotal + EConctotal
nF PH2 × PO2
(3)
( )
RT PH2 × PO2 0.5
ENersnt, ​ FC = Erev + + log − Eact total − EOhmtotal − EConctotal
nF PH2 O
(4)
The activation overpotential is the energy lost as the reaction pro­
ceeds to overcome the activation energy and it is described by Tafel
equation in this study, although it can also be expressed using Butler-
Volmer equation (Spiegel, 2008). Carmo et al. (2013) showed that the
activation potential can be affected by temperature, nature and loading
of electrocatalyst, reactants distribution and utilisation, pressure. The
activation overpotential at the positive and negative electrodes are
summed to give the total activation overpotential of a URPEMFC system
(Eacttotal ) as expressed in Eq. (5).
RT
Eacttotal = [log((iloss ​ + i) / io anode ) + log((iloss ​ + i) / iocathode )] (5)
nαF
where the activation constant at the positive and negative electrodes are
equivalent to nRT αF; iloss is the lost internal current density; αis charge
transfer coefficient assumed to be 0.5, i is the current density; ioanode and
iocathode represent the anode and cathode exchange current density,
respectively.
The Ohmic resistances in the URPEMFC system are majorly due to
resistance to electricity (Relect ​ ) passing through the conducting plates
and connections; resistance to the transport of protons (H+ ) through the
PEM (Rion ​ ); and the resistance due to specific contacts (RCR ​ ). The sum
of these three components gives the overpotential due to the Ohms’
resistance (EOhmtotal ) considered in the modelling (Eq. (6)).
EOhm total = i(Relect + ​ Rion + ​ RCR ​ ) (6)
The concentration overpotential occurs due the transportation of the
reactants, products, and ions in the system. The concentration of protons
(H+ ) across the PEM changes depending on the operating conditions of
the system. Also, the formation of water during FC mode requires an
efficient transport of protons (H+ ) from the positive electrode to the
negative electrode through the PEM. The concentration overpotential at
the positive electrode and the negative electrode are summed to give the
total concentration overpotential (EConctotal ) in the URPEMFC system as
expressed in Eq. (7).
RT
EConctotal = [ ​ log ​ (1 − (i / ilanode )) + log(1 − (i / ilcathode ))] (7)
nF
where the empirical constants for the positive and negative electrodes
equivalent to RT
nF ; ilanode and ilcathode represent the positive and negative
electrodes limiting current density, respectively.
Polarisation curves are used to visualise the relationship between the
current and the voltage of the PEME (Kelly, 2014), PEMFC (Wang et al.,
2003) and URPEMFC system (Rabih et al., 2008) while the proposed
PHL shows the relationship between the power and the current density.
A change in the design parameters or the operating conditions of a
URPEMFC system results in a change in the polarisation curve and the
PHL. The PHL of a single cell of the URPEMFC is created with a system of
equations (Ogbonnaya et al., 2021) including the potential difference,
current density, and power density as expressed in Eq. (8). This is a
simplified module of the MATLAB codes representing a coupled
C. Ogbonnaya et al. Cleaner Engineering and Technology 4 (2021) 100241

numerical model of a URPEMFC system.

ẆFC ​ mode + ∅ṁH2 ​ HHVH2
⎧
EEL ​ = ENersnt, ​ EL + Eact total + EOhmtotal + EConctotal ; for EL mode ωURPEMFC, Hybrid = × 100% (12)
⎪
⎪ ẆEL ​ mode
⎨
PEL = iEL ​ × ​ EEL ​ ;
PHL =
⎪
⎪
⎩
EFC ​ = ENersnt,FC − Eact total − EOhm total − EConctotal ; for FC mode where ẆFc ​ mode is the maximum power output from a URPEMFC system
PFC = iFC ​ × ​ EFC ​ .
in the FC mode;ẆEL ​ mode is the maximum power input into a URPEMFC
(8) system in the EL mode; ∅ is a conversion factor to calculate the power
In order to scale up the capacity of the system, membrane electrode equivalence of the excess hydrogen produced; ṁH2 mass flow rate of
assembly (MEA) of a URPEMFC system can be connected in series to hydrogen.
create a URPEMFC stack. The power consumed in the EL mode and the The validation of the URPEMFC model is done by comparing the
power produced in the FC mode can be calculated with Eq. (9). model predicted polarisation curves with the polarisation curves from

{
PEL = Ncell ​ × ​ Acell ​ × iEL ​ × ​ EEL ​ Power consumed in the EL mode.
PURPEMFCstack ​ = (9)
PFC = Ncell ​ × ​ Acell ​ × iFC ​ × ​ EFC Power produced in the FC mode.

an experimental study by Grigoriev et al. (2011). The purpose of this

where Ncell is number of cells in the stack, Acell is the active area of the
cell.
There is a direct link between power generation or consumption and
hydrogen level in the system. Ideally, hydrogen generation varies with
the power consumption in the EL mode whereas power generation varies
with the hydrogen consumption in the FC mode. Eq. (10) expresses the
net balances of hydrogen that can be encountered during the operation
of URPEMFC system.
validation is to ascertain that the coupled URPEMFC model exhibits
temporal behaviours characteristic of the system in the EL and FC
modes. Fig. 3 shows the comparison between the model predicted
polarisation curves against the results presented in Grigoriev et al.
(2011).
4. Results and discussions

⎧
⎨ H2 EL ​ > H2 FC ​ if EL mode produces more H2 than consumed by the FC mode
PHLstack = H2 EL ​ = H2 FC ​ if EL mode produces the exact H2 consumed by the FC mode (10)
⎩
H2 EL ​ < H2 FC ​ if EL mode produces less H2 than consumed by FC mode

This section presents the results generated from parametric studies of

where H2EL represent the hydrogen produced in the EL mode and the effects of lost internal current density, number of cells in the stack
H2FC represent the hydrogen consumed in the FC mode. and the total resistance.
Irreversibility is a terminology used for the second law of thermo­
dynamics. From a thermodynamic perspective, if the power consumed in 4.1. Design for reversibility of the URPEMFC system
the EL mode is exactly the same as the power produced in the FC mode, it
implies that the integrated efficiency is 100% and should produce a The main design attribute of a URPEMFC system is its capability to
linear behaviour. However, this would deviate from the principles of perform electrolytic and galvanic functions depending on the mode of
entropy generation which is the basis for the second law of thermody­ the system. Fig. 4 shows the PHL when the URPEMFC system is
namics. The fact that in a roundtrip operation of a URPEMFC system in reversible. This is based on a current density of 0.5 A cm− 2 for both EL
which the power consumed in the EL mode is larger than the power and FC modes. A formation of a PHL may indicate that the conversion
produced in the FC mode means that the electrochemical processes have
implicitly undergone irreversibilities. Since the power hysteresis effect is
proposing a narrowing of the difference between the power input and
power output, the closest terminology to describe the degradation of the
power output within the context of this study is irreversibilities which is
often captured as overpotentials.
The integrated efficiency ( ω ) of a URPEMFC system for power-to-
power applications is the ratio of the maximum power produced in
the FC mode to the maximum power consumed in the EL mode as
expressed in Eq. (11). If the URPEMFC system is designed to produce
both power and hydrogen, the efficiency will be adjusted to include the
equivalent higher heating value (HHV) of excess hydrogen produced by
the system as expressed in Eq. (12).

ẆFC ​ mode
ωURPEMFC, ​ Power = × 100% (11)
ẆEL ​ mode

Fig. 3. Validation of the URPEMFC model against Grigoriev et al. (2011).

5
C. Ogbonnaya et al.
Fig. 4. Power – current plot of a reversible URPEMFC cell.
Fig. 5. Effect of potential difference between the EL mode and the FC mode in
the URPEMFC system.
efficiency of a URPEMFC system is degrading because the system is
tending towards irreversibility. In the context of this study, PHE due to
the activation overpotential can be reduced by optimising factors such
as electrocatalysis and operating conditions of the URPEMFC; so that the
activation energy can be overcome with minimal power consumption in
the EL mode. Similarly, in the FC mode, reducing the activation over­
potentials will facilitate the electro-kinetics of power generation since
the activation energy will be reduced. The significance of the PHE is that
it should be reduced to the barest minimum so that the integrated effi­
ciency of the system can be improved.
To further investigate how the PHE evolved in the URPEMFC system,
the PHL was simulated at different potential differences in the FC and EL
modes in a URPEMFC stack containing 10 cells. Each cell had an active
area of 100 cm2 and operated at a maximum current density of 2 A cm− 2.
From Fig. 5, the potential difference in the EL mode was increased from
1.2, 2.2, 3.2, 4.2–5.2 V over the FC mode. The PHL decreased in size as
the voltage of the of the EL mode increased. This agrees with the pre­
vious finding which showed that the power and voltage of a URPEMFC
system were generally higher in the EL mode compared to the FC mode.
As an example, the experimental results by Grigoriev et al. (2011)
showed that the nominal power and voltage of a URPEMFC system in EL
mode was 1562 W and 12.2 V while the nominal power and voltage in
FC mode was 492 W and 3.85 V, respectively. Hypothetically, if energy
and mass in the system were conserved, and the processes were abso­
lutely reversible, the same power consumed in the EL mode would be
6
Cleaner Engineering and Technology 4 (2021) 100241
Fig. 6. Effect of increasing the total resistance on the URPEMFC cell.
produced in the FC mode. This is an ideal and desirable outcome, but it is
practically infeasible because many factors including electrocatalysis,
nature and composition of materials (e.g. membrane, collector plates,
etc), design (e.g. flow channels shapes and dimensions), operating
conditions (temperature, pressure, humidity, load, etc), mode of oper­
ation may affect the performance of the system. Our proposition is that
PHL is a window through which the effects of the parameters and var­
iables on the system can be visualised and optimised. Given that it has
been shown through experimentation that hysteresis exists in a
URPEMFC (Rabih et al. (2008)) and that the power consumed in the EL
mode is greater than the power produced, there is a need to further
investigate the phenomenon. The PHE can be reduced with novel elec­
trocatalysts, optimal operating conditions optimisation (e.g. pressure,
temperature, reactants/products), improved materials for PEM and
collector plates, effective heat dissipation and water management which
are sources of activation, Ohmic and concentration overpotentials.
Although the Ohmic overpotential is a linear function, its effects on
the flow of ions, electrons and species are important. The effect of
electrical resistance in the URPEMFC system was simulated by
increasing the Ohmic resistance from 0.5, 1.5, 2.5–3.0 Ohms. Fig. 6
showed that the overall overpotential increased as Ohmic resistance in
the URPEMFC system increased. Clearly, the increase in the Ohmic
resistance caused the linear portion of the polarisation curve to increase
in steepness. Typical of PEM technologies, Ohmic overpotential in the
URPEMFC system can be reduced by using highly conductive materials
for the current collectors, reduction in the thickness of the membrane,
improving the humidity of the membrane to enhance ionic conductivity
as well as eliminating water flooding (Spiegel et al., 2007). Spiegel
(2008) reported that poly (tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) and Per­
fluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membranes (e.g. Nafion made by DuPont)
Fig. 7. Effects of increasing the lost internal current density of the
URPEMFC system.
C. Ogbonnaya et al.
Fig. 8. Effect of scaling up a URPEMFC system on the PHE.
have a low cell resistance (0.05 Q cm2) for a 100-mm-thick membrane
with a voltage loss of only 50 mV at 1 A cm− 2. However, some disad­
vantages of PFSA membranes include a high cost of material, limitations
in its supporting structure requirements, and temperature-related
limitations.
4.2. Effect of increasing the lost internal current density of URPEMFC
system
The lost internal current density was increased by a factor of 10 to
observe its effect on the OCV in the EL and FC modes. Fig. 7 showed that
increasing the lost internal current density from 0.008 to 0.8 A cm− 2
increased the OCV in EL mode but reduced the OCV in FC mode. This
means that the lost internal current density needs to be reduced in order
to increase the OCV of FC mode and reduce the OCV for EL mode.
Spiegel (2008) stated that if the exchange current density of a PEMFC is
low, the kinetics become sluggish, and the activation overpotential will
be larger for any particular net current. On the other hand, if the ex­
change current density is large, the kinetics become fast, and activation
overpotential will be smaller for any net current. Nonetheless, if a sys­
tem has an extremely small exchange current density, no significant
current will flow unless a large activation overpotential is applied.
Overall, the reduction in the lost internal current density is necessary for
a better performance of the URPEMFC system in both EL and FC modes.
One of the technological benefits of a URPEMFC system is its scal­
ability which is achieved by connecting MEA in series. Fig. 8 showed a
scale-up of the URPEMFC stack from 1 to 10 cells based on Eq. (11). It
was observed that scaling up the system did not eliminate the PHE,
suggesting that the fundamental electrochemical and thermodynamic
Fig. 9. Effect of modularisation on a URPEMFC system. (a) Polarisation curves (b) PHL.
7
Cleaner Engineering and Technology 4 (2021) 100241
attributes of a URPEMFC system are the sources of PHE. From this study
the maximum power consumed in the EL mode was 990 W while the
maximum power produced in the FC mode was 440 W for a current
density of 0.5 A cm− 2 and 10 cells, which translated into a power con­
version efficiency of 44%. This result assumes that a bifunctional plate
used effectively facilitates the electrolytic and galvanic processes. Thus,
improving the integrated efficiency of the system may require improving
the electrochemical and thermodynamic characteristics of the system to
reduce irreversibilities from the activation, Ohmic and concentration
overpotentials.
4.3. Theoretical thermodynamic efficiency of a URPEMFC system
Assuming that the electrochemical processes in the URPEMFC sys­
tem are reversible, and that there were no overpotentials; ideally the
electrical energy consumed in the EL mode will be equivalent to the
electrical energy produced in the FC mode. Suppose that the electrical
energy input in the EL mode is equivalent to the enthalpy of formation of
hydrogen and oxygen while the electrical energy output in the FC mode
is equivalent to the enthalpy of formation of water. At STP, gf H2 O is
− 237.2 kJ mol− 1 and the potential is 1.23 V (Larminie and Dicks, 2003),
the theoretical thermodynamic efficiency in FC mode is the extent to
which the change in the Gibbs free energy at STP equals the enthalpy of
formation of water (i.e. 237.2/285.84 = 0.8298 or 83%). Consequently,
the integrated theoretical thermodynamic efficiency of a URPEMFC
system is 0.6886 (or approximately 69%) compared to the 31.5% power
conversion efficiency achieved by Grigoriev et al. (2011) and 44%
predicted in this study. The theoretical thermodynamic efficiency re­
quires series of scientific and engineering improvements to approach;
but systematic reduction in the activation, Ohmic and concentration
overpotentials encountered by URPEMFC systems will ultimately
improve its integrated efficiency. Nevertheless, the need to innovate
hydrogen-based technologies that can be integrated with renewable
energy resources for cleaner energy production will likely drive the
improvements in the efficiency of URPEMFC systems through research
and development efforts.
4.4. Modularisation of URPEMFC systems
Suppose that a URPEMFC stack is integrated with renewable energy
sources (say solar or wind) for power-to-power application under off-
grid mode. To improve the self-sufficiency of the integrated system,
the capability of the system to simultaneously generate hydrogen in the
EL mode and generate power in the FC mode is crucial. PHE appears to
be magnified during switching from one mode to another as shown by
Dhar (1993) and Rabih et al. (2008). Fig. 9 (a) and (b) are the
C. Ogbonnaya et al. Cleaner Engineering and Technology 4 (2021) 100241

polarisation curves and PHL, respectively, of a modularised URPEMFC integrated PV-URPEMFC system.
system containing 10 cells. The figures show simulations of three sce­
narios: (a) a module of 5 cells in EL mode and a module of 5 cells in FC 5. Case study: an integrated Photovoltaic-URPEMFC system
mode; (b) a module of 8 cells in EL mode and a module of 2 cells in FC using actual solar radiation and temperature data
mode; (c) a module of 2 cells in EL mode and a module of 8 cells in FC
mode. From Fig. 9 (a), the OCV in both modes increased with the cor­ This case study assesses the integration of a photovoltaic (PV) array
responding number of cells. Similarly, the power consumed in the EL with a battery bank and URPEMFC stacks for renewable power gener­
mode and the power produced in the FC mode increased correspond­ ation application. Actual solar radiation and temperature data are used
ingly to the number of cells in a module in each mode as shown in Fig. 9 as input for power generation with a 7.2 kW PV array. The power
(b). The operational implications of this result are that more power is generated from a PV array containing 24 modules is consumed by 20 Li-
consumed in the EL mode when more modules are in EL mode but it ion batteries and 6 stacks of URPEMFC system. The PV-URPEMFC sys­
results in an increased generation of hydrogen. On the other hand, if the tem can be used as a power source for a remote telecommunication
number of modules in FC mode is higher than the number of modules in infrastructure, data centres, for e-commerce operations, for agro-
EL mode, more power is generated although it will result in faster processing, in remote research facilities, for solar hydrogen produc­
depletion of the stored hydrogen gas. This corresponds to the operating tion, etc.
notion expressed in Eq. (10).
Assuming that the system is not modularised, the time lag between
hydrogen generation and consumption becomes the means to generate 5.1. Description of a PV-URPEMFC system and method of study
adequate hydrogen which can be recalled for power generation. At a
system level, suppose that X W is utilised to generate hydrogen and Fig. 10 shows a block diagram of an integrated PV-URPEMFC system.
oxygen today and that the gases are conservatively stored in tanks. A PV array generates electricity based on the meteorological conditions
Suppose again that in 10 days’ time, the URPEMFC system is switched to of the installation site so that the battery bank can be charged first
FC mode to convert all the gases into power. The fundamental question depending on the state of charge. When the batteries are fully charged,
we are pursuing is how the power consumed during the electrolytic excess power generated can be used to generate hydrogen with the EL
process could be equal to or near the power generated through the mode of the URPEMFC component. During operation, the battery bank
galvanic process. The current findings, in agreement with extant studies, which is the main source of power is discharged first. When the preset
show that power generated in the FC mode will be less than X W. This depth of discharge is reached, the FC mode of the URPEMFC component
negative discrepancy in X W is a performance limitation that should be is switched on. Also, if power demanded from the battery bank exceeds
accounted for and improved within the limits permissible by the laws of the capacity of the batteries, the URPEMFC component can be switched
thermodynamics and electrochemistry. To account for this, we infer in on to meet the excess demand. DC/DC converters are used to connect the
this study that the trajectory of the discrepancy between the power
consumed in the EL mode and the power generated in the FC mode can
be categorised and investigated as a hysteresis effect. Common cate­
gories of electrochemical and thermodynamic losses (activation, Ohmic,
and concentration losses) were the basis used to investigate the PHE and
the PHL. The PHL was sensitive under a steady state condition for
changes in different variables of the system. Again, if the system was
designed for power-to-power applications, the number of modules in FC
mode will be higher, but the stacks in EL mode must generate sufficient
hydrogen for a sustainable regenerative operation. Modularisation of
the system can help to manage the unpredictability of renewable energy
sources (Ogbonnaya et al., 2020). Hence, flexible design for diverse
applications can easily be achieved by tweaking the modularity of the
URPEMFC system. A control strategy is proposed in Section 7 to
implement the proposed dynamic mode based on a modular design of an Fig. 11. Model predicted MPP of a PV module and PV array.

Fig. 10. Block diagram of an integrated PV-URPEMFC system.

8
C. Ogbonnaya et al. Cleaner Engineering and Technology 4 (2021) 100241

PV modules, batteries and the URPEMFC stacks to the DC bus bar, while Ogbonnaya et al. (2019b) have shown that solar radiation and
DC/AC converter is used to supply AC to loads. temperature influence power generation with photovoltaic systems.
The method/approach for implementing the case study is as follows. From Fig. 13 (a), the power generated from the PV array varied with the
Daily solar radiation and temperature data for Abuja, Nigeria were monthly solar radiation. Month 1 indicates January 2016 and month 12
sourced from Nigerian Meteorological Agency Abuja. Photovoltaic indicates December 2016. Fig. 13 (b) showed the variation of average
modelling and simulation code (PVMSIC) (Ogbonnaya et al., 2020a) was monthly temperature with the power generated from the PV array. It has
used to create and validate a commercially available PV module rated been shown that an increase in the temperature of the PV module could
300 W at STC. The parameters of the PV module were used to create a PV degrade the conversion efficiency of the PV module (Ogbonnaya et al.,
array with a maximum power point (MPP) of 7.2 kW as shown in Fig. 11. 2019c). Based on the comparative gap between the conversion effi­
The power generated from the PV array ( PPV ​ array ) was shared as inputs ciency of battery bank and the URPEMFC, Fig. 13 (c) implied that
between the battery bank ( Pbat ) and the EL mode of URPEMFC stacks ( generating power with the batteries at 85% has lower conversion losses
PURPEMFC ) based on Eq. (13). Power output to the load from the battery compared to generating power at 50% with the URPEMFC components.
bank and the URPEMFC stacks are subject to a constraint of electro­ However, ability to store hydrogen as energy vector for a longer period
chemical conversion efficiency ( η) expressed in Eq. (14). may imply that a URPEMFC component can complement the batteries so
that the reliability of the integrated PV-URPEMFC system can be
PPV ​ array = αbat Pbat + αURPEMFC ​ PURPEMFC (13)
improved.
PLoad = ηbat Pbat + ηURPEMFC ​ PURPEMFC (14)
6. Prospects and limitations of an integrated PV-URPEMFC
where αbat is the portion of the power from the PV array used for system
charging the battery bank;αURPEMFC; is the power consumed in the EL
mode to generate hydrogen gas; ηbat is the conversion efficiency of the Chávez-Ramírez et al. (2013) showed that there was a need to
battery; ηURPEMFC is the conversion efficiency of the URPEMFC improve the power management strategy for a hybrid PV/wind/bat­
component. tery/URPEMFC system. The integration of PV modules or wind turbines
Based on the design configuration in Fig. 10, the battery bank was with a URPEMFC component requires robust controllers and energy
the main source of power, and it consumed 60% of the power generated management algorithm/system due to the intermittency of solar radia­
from the PV array to keep the batteries charged. The remaining 40% of tion or wind speed. To improve the renewable energy utilisation effi­
the power generated from the PV array was used to generate hydrogen in ciency of the system, modularisation of the URPEMFC component to
the EL mode of 6 stacks of the URPEMFC component. It was assumed simultaneously generate hydrogen with some modules whilst supplying
that the batteries dispatch electricity at a conversion efficiency of 85% power with some other modules might be necessary to achieve opera­
while the URPEMFC stacks regenerate electricity at 50% conversion tional improvements. However, the modularity of the system also pre­
efficiency in the FC mode. Table 2 contains the parameters of sents sizing challenge common to renewable energy-based systems
commercially available 300 W Photonic Universe monocrystalline solar (Ogbonnaya et al., 2019b). Nevertheless, integrating the URPEMFC
panel, POWER OAK 400 Ah Lithium battery and Marine FC system used component with renewable energy could be one of the ways of
for the study. addressing the problem of fluctuations of the renewable energy re­
sources (Ogbonnaya et al., 2019a). The overall cost of URPEMFC system
5.2. Results and discussions is lower than that of DRPEMFC system since a URPEMFC system uses the
same sub-components (e.g. cooling system, water management unit,
Fig. 12 showed the daily variations of the input solar radiation and power electronics, DC bus, etc) to function in either EL or FC mode.
temperature for Abuja, Nigeria for the year 2016. The data were further However, there are current limitations of the URPEMFC system that
converted into monthly solar radiation and average temperature. require further research to realise the commercialisation potential of the
system in the coming decades. The major challenge facing the PV-
URPEMFC system is that both the PV and URPEMFC components are
Table 2
still costly. Thus, there is a need to reduce the cost of the system through
Parameters of the components of the PV-URPEMFC system.
design and material innovations. Furthermore, water management,
Components Descriptions Values appropriate bifunctional electrodes (Grigoriev et al., 2010), and effec­
Photovoltaic 300 W Photonic Universe monocrystalline tive electrocatalysts to facilitate oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and
module solar panel hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are still subjects of intensive
Rated maximum power point/module 300 W
research (Dutta et al., 2017). Platinum was reported to be ineffective for
Predicted maximum power point/module 298.89 W
Voltage at maximum power point 32.7 V oxygen evolution reaction (OER) but proved more effective for hydrogen
Current at maximum power point 9.17 A evolution reaction (HER) (Ledjeff et al., 1995). Zhigang et al. (1999)
Open circuit voltage 39.8 V reported that using 50 wt% Pt + 50 wt% IrO2, with a catalyst loading of
Short circuit current 9.7 A 0.4 mg cm− 2, performed well in both EL and FC modes of a URPEMFC
Number of modules used 24
Total predicted power output of the PV 7.17 kW
system. Platinum based electrocatalysts, rhodium, ruthenium and
array iridium oxides are promising for applications in a URPEMFC component
URPEMFC Estimated with available Marine FC (Ledjeff et al., 1995). Durability of the parts of a URPEMFC component is
system another barrier to commercialisation (Gabbasa et al., 2014). Ensuring
Current density of cell 0.5 A cm− 2
that the system is not flooded with water as it switches from one mode to
Voltage range 10.8–14.2 V
Current output 4.2 A another is a challenge because it may contribute to the PHE during
Number of stacks 6 switching from one mode to the other. Wang et al. (2016) showed that a
Power capacity 435 Amp/h at ratio of 5–7 wt% PTFE and 7–9 wt% Naffion is suitable for water man­
12 V agement in URPEMFC system given that PTFE is hydrophobic while
Charge capacity 1200 Wh/day
Efficiency 50%
Naffion is hydrophilic; considering that water is dissociated in EL mode
Battery POWER OAK 400 Ah Lithium battery but formed in FC mode.
Number of batteries 20
Total capacity of the battery bank 8000 Ah
Efficiency 85%

9
C. Ogbonnaya et al.
Fig. 12. Daily solar radiation and temperature variations for Abuja, Nigeria (Source: Nigerian Meteorological Agency Abuja).
Fig. 13. Power generation characteristics of PV-URPEMFC system (a) Power generation from the PV array in relation to the variations of solar radiation (b) Power
generation from the PV array in relation to the variations of temperature (c) monthly power input and output for the battery bank (d) monthly power input and
output for the URPEMFC system.
7. Recommendations for further studies
In addition to the current limitations of a URPEMFC system due to its
electrochemical and thermodynamic features, there is a serious design
and control limitation that should be addressed. Currently, a URPEMFC
system can only be in either EL mode, FC mode or OFF mode. There is a
need for an additional mode (referred to as a dynamic mode in this
study) in which a URPEMFC system can simultaneously operate in EL
and FC modes based on a modularised design. This is supported by the
results presented in Fig. 9 in which the system was modularised. To
contextualise the problem, suppose that a PV-URPEMFC system is
required to generate electricity in the FC mode to meet a demand; but
while the demand is being met, solar radiation becomes available for
generation of hydrogen. To start generating hydrogen, the system must
be switched to EL mode, and this implies that the power supply in the FC
mode must be stopped. Overcoming this problem is the reason a dy­
namic mode is necessary to allow the system to continue supplying
power with some modules while hydrogen can be generated with some
other modules since a module cannot be in the two modes at the same
time. This design modification is a means of realising a long-term energy
storage using hydrogen as energy vector since hydrogen can be gener­
ated at every opportunity if the dynamic mode is implemented. Realis­
ing the dynamic mode can also improve the sustainability of the system
since the same materials for the URPEMFC system will convert more
renewable energy sources during its life span. The following control
strategy is proposed for developing a control algorithm for
10
Cleaner Engineering and Technology 4 (2021) 100241
operationalising the dynamic mode. Of course, it can be modified to suit
the specific use cases.
Proposed control strategy for the dynamic mode of the URPEMFC.
If the URPEMFC system is not generating power, FC mode OFF.
If the URPEMFC system is not generating hydrogen, EL mode OFF.
If the URPEMFC system is not generating power and hydrogen, System
OFF.
If the URPEMFC system is generating power, FC mode ON.
If the URPEMFC system is not generating hydrogen, EL mode OFF.
If the URPEMFC system is generating power but not hydrogen, System FC
mode.
If the URPEMFC system is not generating power, FC mode OFF.
If the URPEMFC system is generating hydrogen, EL mode ON.
If the URPEMFC system is not generating power but hydrogen, System EL
mode.
If the URPEMFC system is generating power, FC mode ON.
If the URPEMFC system is generating hydrogen, EL mode ON.
If the URPEMFC system is generating power and hydrogen, System dy­
namic mode ON.
If the URPEMFC system is in System dynamic mode ON.
If a RENEWABLE SOURCE is available and system is in System dy­
namic mode ON.
If the URPEMFC system is generating power = load, keep operating at
System dynamic mode ON.
If the URPEMFC system is generating power > load, decide the ratio to
reduce the number of stacks in FC mode.
C. Ogbonnaya et al.
If the URPEMFC system is generating power > load, and the ratio is
decided, switch the balance to EL mode.
If the URPEMFC system is generating power < load, decide the ratio to
increase the number of stacks in FC mode.
Else If the URPEMFC system is generating power < load, and the ratio is
decided, switch the stacks in EL to FC mode.
Further study may be required to investigate the dynamic behaviour
of a modularised URPEMFC system and the extent to which a control
strategy can improve the performance, thermo-economics, and reli­
ability of the system. The decision-making feature of the proposed
control strategy may also require artificial intelligence to implement.
These advanced studies may be better pursued using experimental
approach.
8. Conclusions
In this study, modelling and simulation approach was used to
investigate the power hysteresis effect (PHE) in a URPEMFC system.
First, the electrochemical and thermodynamic characteristics of the
stack are coupled so that polarisation curves and power hysteresis loop
can be visualised. After validating the URPEMFC model, parametric
studies were performed to investigate how changes in the lost internal
current density, number of cells, and total resistance affect the perfor­
mance of the system. The findings indicate that PHE occurred in all the
scales of the URPEMFC system, suggesting that it may be potentially
addressed at a fundamental level. An increase in the lost internal current
density and total resistance resulted in an increase in overpotentials of
the system. The theoretical thermodynamic efficiency of the URPEMFC
system is about 68.86% if there were no overpotentials but the power
efficiency predicted in the current study was 44% compared to 31.5%
reported in a previous study.
The second part of this study focussed on an integrated PV-URPEMFC
system using actual meteorological data. The power generation poten­
tial of the system depended on the solar radiation and temperature of the
location. Overall, if optimised, the URPEMFC component can be applied
in conjunction with renewable energy sources for power-to-gas tech­
nologies, power-to-power technologies, hydrogen filling stations or
distributed hybrid energy systems. Our future work focuses on devel­
oping energy management system for a PV-Wind turbine-URPEMFC
system for grid-connected and stand-alone applications using hourly
solar radiation and temperature data.
It is recommended that a dynamic mode in which the URPEMFC
component can simultaneously be in EL and FC modes should be further
investigated taking advantage of the modular nature of the components
so that the renewable energy utilisation efficiency of the system can be
improved. Also, an investigation of the power hysteresis effect based on
a transient model of a URPEMFC system, taking cognizance of the power
quality as the system switches from EL mode to FC mode and vice versa,
may provide further insights into the effects of PHE on URPEMFC sys­
tems. Lastly, the thermo-economics of dynamic mode should be inves­
tigated because it could provide further insights into the potential
benefits of the modularisation of renewable-energy-integrated
URPEMFC systems.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgement
This work is supported by a scholarship of the Petroleum Technology
Development Fund (PTDF) Nigeria number PTDF/ED/PHD/OC/1078/
17.
11
Cleaner Engineering and Technology 4 (2021) 100241
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