A stacked interleaved DC-DC buck converter for proton exchange membrane electrolyzer applications: Design and experimental validation

Since the two last decades, hydrogen production has been attracting the attention of thescientific community thanks to its inherent very low pollution when energy coming fromrenewable energy sources (RESs) are used. However, it implies the use of DC/DC convertersto interface source and load. These conversion systems must meet several requirementsfrom current ripple point of view, energy efficiency, and performance to preserve thesustainability of hydrogen production. This article proposes the design and realization of astacked interleaved buck converter to supply a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer.The converter is designed to ensure a low output current ripple and a suitable dynamicresponse to guarantee the reliability of the electrolyzer. A theoretical analysis of the converter,taking into account the dynamic model of the electrolyzer, and the design of thecontrol system based both on feedforward and a feedback action is provided. The stabilityof the control system is discussed as well. The effectiveness of the model and the controlalgorithm has been verified by simulation and experimental results on a PEM electrolyzerat laboratory scale; the extension to higher power levels is discussed at the end.