Fast dynamic control for a boost DC/DC converter in hybrid-electric powertrain with PEM fuel cell and battery pack

When working with hybrid-electric powertrain with a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) along with a battery pack, to increase the life of the PEMFC and avoid a drop of performance it needs to be periodically short circuited. The periodic short circuit of the PEMFC requires the DC/DC converter to be decoupled from the PEMFC. This behaviour leads the converter to undergo several start-up transients, and for an optimal energy management, the converter must reach its reference steady-state condition as quickly as possible. In this frame, this paper presents an innovative dynamic control for current mode operations of a boost DC/DC converter for managing the power exchange between the fuel cell and the battery pack, which could be easily implemented in industrial applications. With the proposed control system, the converter achieves faster step response when turned on, reducing the time required by the controlled current to reach its set point. To support theoretical considerations and simulations results, an experimental validation has been performed with a real system prototype.