Power electronics for green hydrogen generation with focus on methods, topologies, and comparative analysis

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Renewable Energy Systems
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Electrolyzer performance in hydrogen production is critical for sustainable energy.
• Industrial electrolyzers require high current and stable DC voltage.
• Conventional rectifiers face challenges with harmonic distortions and power quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To meticulously examine advanced power electronic converters for optimizing electrolyzer performance.
• To review mature electrolyzer types, their specifications, and scalability.
• To explore cutting-edge AC-DC and DC-DC converter topologies for hydrogen production systems.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a thorough review of mature electrolyzer types and their specifications.
• Delved into a broad spectrum of AC-DC and DC-DC converter topologies.
• Explored advanced rectifiers, transformers, filters, and DC-DC converters, including isolated and non-isolated designs.

Main Results:

• Identified advanced converter solutions like multi-pulse rectifiers, MSAT, and polygon autotransformers that reduce harmonic distortions.
• Evaluated the efficiency and power factor correction of Active Front End (AFE) converters and 3L-DNPC rectifiers.
• Investigated various DC-DC converters, including interleaved, coupled inductor, and isolated designs for diverse applications.

Conclusions:

• Advanced power electronic converters significantly enhance efficiency, reliability, and power quality in electrolyzer systems.
• These innovations are crucial for addressing challenges posed by conventional rectifier systems.
• The study highlights the critical role of converter technology in advancing sustainable energy and hydrogen production.