Open Access

ARTICLE

An Equivalent Fuel Consumption Minimizing Strategy for Fuel Cell Ships Considering Power Degradation

Diju Gao, Shuai Li^*

Key Laboratory of Transport Industry of Marine Technology and Control Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai, 201306, China

* Corresponding Author: Shuai Li. Email:

Energy Engineering 2025, 122(4), 1425-1442. https://doi.org/10.32604/ee.2025.062101

Received 10 December 2024; Accepted 01 February 2025; Issue published 31 March 2025

Abstract

To safeguard the ocean ecosystem, fuel cells are excellent candidates as the primary energy supply for marine vessels due to their high efficiency, low noise, and cleanliness. However, fuel cells in hybrid power systems are highly susceptible to load transients, which can severely damage fuel cells and shorten their lifespan. Therefore, the formulation of energy management strategies accounting for power degradation is crucial and urgent. In this study, an improved strategy for equivalent consumption minimization strategy (ECMS) considering power degradation is proposed. The improved energy control strategy effectively controls the energy distribution of hydrogen fuel cells, lithium batteries, and supercapacitors in hybrid power ships. The proposed control strategy combines the ECMS with an adaptive filtering method. The main objective of the ECMS is to allocate power to the fuel cell systems and energy storage systems (ESS) to stabilize the power output of fuel cells, prolong their service life, and reduce the hydrogen consumption in fuel cells. The adaptive filtering method, by low-pass filtering of the energy in the energy storage system, is used to allocate power between lithium batteries and supercapacitors to minimize the effect of transient and peak energy output on the lifespan of lithium batteries. To verify the superiority of the control strategy, a mathematical model for the hybrid power system is developed. In comparison to traditional ECMS and traditional ECMS considering degradation, the improved ECMS considering power degradation shows better performance in the overall economy, the durability of fuel cells and batteries, and system dynamic performance.

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