Design of current source DC/DC converter and inverter for 2kW fuel cell application

Abstract

In order to use hydrogen fuel cell in domestic applications either as main power supply or backup power source, the low DC output voltage of the fuel cell has to be matched to the voltage level and frequency of the utility grid AC voltage. The interfacing power converter systems usually consist of a DC/DC converter and an inverter. In this paper a detailed simulation study of such interfacing converter system comprising a double inductor push-pull step-up DC/DC converter and a cascaded H-bridge inverter has been carried out and further confirmed with experimental results. The power converter system is designed for interfacing a 2kW proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell.