How ETAP helps to Model, Size, and Standardize Fuel Cell in Micro-grid

ETAP covers all areas of power systems, including renewables, generation, transmission, distribution studies, microgrid control, and industrial power systems.
By Ahmed Saber, PhD, VP Optimization and AI, ETAP

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory collaborates with the ETAP to develop studies on fuel cells by providing a digital model. This presentation reiterates the methodology for creating a digital model of a new fuel cell, which is valuable for designing microgrids. Doctor Kumaraguru Prabakar from NREL contributed to this case study during his DOE project on hydrogen and fuel cells.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC. NREL has decades of focused leadership in clean energy research, development, and deployment. No other institution has the long-standing expertise and breadth of knowledge that will form the foundation of the clean energy transition.

Location: Golden, Colorado, USA

Year: 2023

Data driven modeling of fuel cell

Challenges

  • To build an accurate model in ETAP software with all needed parameters, polarization, and electrolysis curves. 
  • To test the model of fuel cells in real industry cases, depending on temperature fluctuations and pressure levels. 
  • To simulate the entire energy conversion process, from hydrogen and oxygen reactions to electricity generation.
  • To study the fuel cell microgrid and its effect on Distributed Energy Resource (DER) penetration by using a model.

Which solutions did they use for research?

Selected applications

They chose the ETAP Digital-Twin platform for intelligent modeling, forecasting, planning, and control of electrical power systems.

Why do they use Etap?

Main Customer Benefits

  • A tested fuel cell model was added to the ETAP library. Researchers and engineers can use ETAP to design innovative microgrids.
  • Engineers can access a full scope of fuel cell parameters in the Fuel Cell Editor and can select equipment and settings.
  • For the theme, various electrical calculations using an equipment database with complete electrical data are available, including Load Flow, Fault Management, Voltage Drop Optimization, Harmonics, and DER Integration. 
  • Intuitive evaluation of the calculation's results and clear visualization with alarms are also beneficial for engineers.

What do they think about ETAP?

Opinions

We can perform microgrid optimization, also referred to as resource optimization, which includes fuel cells, PV, and other technologies. We have a proprietary model for fuel cells, which is very user-friendly. We also model the effects of temperature and pressure on fuel cells. We can conduct system-level studies for fuel cells using ETAP.
By Ahmed Saber, PhD, VP Optimization and AI, ETAP

ETAP is a power system simulation software with a dual digital platform. Recall that we always progress from intelligent modeling to optimal operations through forecasting, planning, control, and other related processes.By Ahmed Saber, PhD, VP Optimization and AI, ETAP



Videos

Fuel Cell Modeling, Sizing and Standards in Micro-grid

Fuel cell and electrolyzer systems, employed from small-scale to grid-level applications, serve various grid support functions and energy optimization objectives, relying on intelligent energy management systems (EMS) and control strategies, yet face challenges due to the absence of standardized distributed energy resources sizing and lack of high-fidelity circuit model data, which will be addressed in the upcoming presentation, alongside discussions on cell-level fuel cell modeling in ETAP and its application in micro-grid optimization for net zero energy-emission adhering to relevant standards/grid-codes.


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