A Low-Cost Inverter for Domestic Fuel Cell Applications
A Low-Cost Inverter for Domestic Fuel Cell Applications
A. M. Tuckey J. N. Krase
Powercorp Pty. Ltd. University of Wisconsin—Madison Darwin, N.T. Australia Madison, WI U.S.A. tuckey@ieee.org
Abstract— The utilization of fuel cells for distributed power genera- tion requires the development of an inexpensive inverter that converts a fuel cell’s variable dc output into useful ac. To encourage this develop- ment the US Department of Energy and the IEEE setup and sponsored a national US student competition with a substantial first prize going to the lowest cost working fuel cell inverter: the 2001 Future Energy Chal- lenge (FEC). This paper describes the work of the University of Wis- consin FEC Team. It discusses the topology used to achieve the said ob- jective, the rationale used in choosing this topology, detailed component selection optimized to minimize cost, and the dc/dc and dc/ac converter control. Finally some conclusions are made and a new total-system- approach design using a high voltage fuel cell is proposed to further reduce the cost of the inverter. Keywords—Fuel cell, Renewable Energy, Distributed Generation.
I. INTRODUCTION “IN the future, many local energy sources, such as pho- tovoltaic units, fuel cells, small turbines, small hydro- electric plants, and other dispersed sources will become a larger fraction of our electrical supply.” This quote is taken from the 2001 Future Energy Challenge [1], a national US student competition sponsored and set up by the Department of Energy and the IEEE, which spanned Fall 2000 through Summer 2001.
II. THE 2001 FUTURE ENERGY CHALLENGE
The Challenge sought to “...dramatically improve the de- sign and reduce the cost of dc-ac inverters and interface sys- tems for use in distributed generation systems ...with the goal of making these interface systems practical and cost ef- fective. The objectives are to design elegant, manufacturable systems that would reduce the costs of commercial inter- face systems by at
A. M. Tuckey J. N. Krase
Powercorp Pty. Ltd. University of Wisconsin—Madison Darwin, N.T. Australia Madison, WI U.S.A. tuckey@ieee.org
Abstract— The utilization of fuel cells for distributed power genera- tion requires the development of an inexpensive inverter that converts a fuel cell’s variable dc output into useful ac. To encourage this develop- ment the US Department of Energy and the IEEE setup and sponsored a national US student competition with a substantial first prize going to the lowest cost working fuel cell inverter: the 2001 Future Energy Chal- lenge (FEC). This paper describes the work of the University of Wis- consin FEC Team. It discusses the topology used to achieve the said ob- jective, the rationale used in choosing this topology, detailed component selection optimized to minimize cost, and the dc/dc and dc/ac converter control. Finally some conclusions are made and a new total-system- approach design using a high voltage fuel cell is proposed to further reduce the cost of the inverter. Keywords—Fuel cell, Renewable Energy, Distributed Generation.
I. INTRODUCTION “IN the future, many local energy sources, such as pho- tovoltaic units, fuel cells, small turbines, small hydro- electric plants, and other dispersed sources will become a larger fraction of our electrical supply.” This quote is taken from the 2001 Future Energy Challenge [1], a national US student competition sponsored and set up by the Department of Energy and the IEEE, which spanned Fall 2000 through Summer 2001.
II. THE 2001 FUTURE ENERGY CHALLENGE
The Challenge sought to “...dramatically improve the de- sign and reduce the cost of dc-ac inverters and interface sys- tems for use in distributed generation systems ...with the goal of making these interface systems practical and cost ef- fective. The objectives are to design elegant, manufacturable systems that would reduce the costs of commercial inter- face systems by at