Multifactorial analysis and operating point optimization of fuel cell and electrolysis systems in real-world operation

An important component of the energy transition is the hydrogen economy. Various players are already working on hydrogen production and electricity generation with fuel cells. While individual components are being optimized on the one hand, the first plants of various sizes are being connected to the grid on the other. In the project, electrolyser and fuel cell systems are to be investigated in real operation using a large number of measured variables recorded in parallel and intelligent data processing. In addition to electrical parameters, temperature distributions in particular play a decisive role: Since these depend strongly on the respective installation and operating situation, they can only be simulated in the laboratory to a limited extent. Networked sensor systems are used to record a large number of measuring points. The complexity of the interdependencies and the amount of data is managed by a combination of analytical and statistical models. Based on the models, concrete measures can be defined and prioritized in order to operate the existing and future systems more efficiently. This will save energy and possibly also technical effort.
The long-term goal is to transfer the observations and models to further plants, where only those measuring points with the greatest influence are used.