PhD Thesis

Mathematical modelling and advanced control design applied to high-pressure electrolyzers for hydrogen production

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Supervisor/s

Information

  • Started: 12/09/2018
  • Finished: 08/11/2021

Description

High-pressure electrolyzers are devices that produce hydrogen and oxygen at the storage pressure without the need for compressors. This would allow to obtain greater efficiencies in the production of hydrogen as energetic vector. There are still technical difficulties related to the purity of the gases produced and the energy efficiency of the process that needs to be studied and modeled. Based on tests carried out on an alkaline electrolyser built entirely at the Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires (Argentina), the performance has been evaluated in various states of operation, analyzing variations in pressure, temperature and current density. In turn, this information is being used to obtain simulation-oriented and control-oriented models. Soon we will be looking to design advanced controls to improve the management of the device, improving the purity of the hydrogen obtained.

The work is under the scope of the following projects:

  • CHEERFUL: Analysis and design of controllers for high-pressure electrolyzers applied to obtaining hydrogen for a PEM fuel-cells setup (web)