Fuel Cell Energy Management Reducing Start-Stop Cycles
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Solution Overview
Problem
In the hydrogen society, there is a challenge in efficiently managing energy conversion from electricity to heat and time-shifting renewable energy supply peaks to match heat demand peaks, particularly due to the limitations of fuel cells like SOFCs, which require preheating to high temperatures and are susceptible to rapid temperature changes, leading to excessive heat or power generation imbalances and frequent start/stop operations.
Innovation Solution
An energy management apparatus that controls a network of fuel cells and secondary cells across multiple facilities to optimize power and heat distribution by predicting demand patterns, interchanging power between sectors, and strategically stopping and restarting fuel cells to minimize frequent start/stop cycles and maintain continuous operation, thereby reducing electrode degradation and thermal stress.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fuel cells operate continuously to meet base load demand, then reliability is improved, but electrode degradation accelerates due to frequent start/stop cycles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple fuel cells into a single system where they can share the operational load. When one fuel cell needs to be stopped for maintenance or degradation reasons, other fuel cells can continue operating to meet the base load demand, thereby maintaining system reliability while extending the individual fuel cell lifespan by reducing their start/stop cycles.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a control system that acts as an intermediary between power demand and fuel cell operation. This control system manages the start/stop cycles of individual fuel cells, coordinating their operation to minimize frequent cycling while ensuring continuous power supply. The control system can also manage secondary cells as intermediaries to handle transient power demands.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If fuel cells are stopped during low demand periods to reduce wear, then fuel cell lifespan is extended, but power supply reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By merging multiple fuel cells into a coordinated system, the patent ensures that when some fuel cells are stopped to extend their lifespan, others can continue operating to maintain power supply reliability. The combined capacity of multiple fuel cells provides redundancy that individual units cannot achieve alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters of the fuel cell system by introducing flexible start/stop control based on demand patterns. Instead of continuous operation or complete shutdown, the system dynamically adjusts the operation state of individual fuel cells, allowing them to remain in optimal operating conditions longer while still meeting power demands through coordinated control.
3Reliability
If preheating time is extended to prevent thermal shock, then fuel cell reliability is improved, but response time to demand changes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by maintaining fuel cells in a preheated standby state during periods of low demand. This allows the fuel cells to be thermally prepared in advance, so when power demand increases, they can start up quickly without requiring full preheating time, thus improving response speed while maintaining thermal shock resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic preheating cycles where fuel cells are gradually heated during low-demand periods and then operated at full capacity during high-demand periods. This periodic action pattern allows the system to balance thermal shock prevention with rapid response capability by cycling between preparation and operation phases.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces the frequency of fuel cell stop and restart, maintains continuous operation, and optimizes energy distribution to match demand peaks, enhancing the efficiency and longevity of fuel cell systems while addressing the imbalance between power and heat supply.
Implementation Method 1
a cogeneration device which supplies power to a power loading device in each of the plurality of facilities and supplies heat to a heat loading device in the facility
Implementation Method 2
charging of a secondary cell in the first facility
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3(a)~3(c)
AI summary
An energy management apparatus manages energy of facilities, has a processor and a storage device and is capable of accessing a control device which controls a cogeneration device which supplies power to a power loading device in each of the facilities and heat to a heat loading device in the facility, wherein the processor acquires a power-generation plan based on time-series power demand in each of the facilities and a time-series power-generation amount of the cogeneration device; and controls the control device of a first facility so that at least one of stop of the cogeneration device of the first facility in the facilities, charging of a secondary cell in the first facility, and power supply to the power loading device of a second facility in the facilities from the cogeneration device of the first facility is performed during a control target period on the basis of the power-generation plan.