Time: Friday, February 18 from 1:00 PM - 1:50 PM EST

Location: Via ZOOM ,  download calendar file

Presenter: Dr. Caisheng Wang, Wayne State University

Title: Power Management and Load Transient Mitigation of Fuel Cell Systems

Abstract: Fuel cells are static energy conversion devices that convert the chemical energy of fuel (hydrogen) directly into electrical energy. They are clean and efficient power generation technologies, promising for static power generation such as distributed generation applications as well as transportation electrification such as fuel cell vehicles. For distributed generation applications, fuel cells have modular structures and can be placed near loads at different levels: houses, commercial buildings, or distribution centers. They can also be integrated with other renewable energy, such as wind or solar, to form a hybrid renewable energy system. For fuel cell vehicles, fuel cell stacks also normally work with battery and/or ultracapacitors to provide electric propulsion.

In this talk, the fundamentals and different types of fuel cells will be reviewed. After the introduction of power management of hybrid energy systems with fuel cells, the focus is given on load transient mitigation, which is important for both stationary and vehicle applications of fuel cells. Different load mitigation approaches and ripple reduction methods via DC/DC converters are discussed for fuel cell systems. A recent 180 kW DC/DC converter developed at Wayne State University will be introduced as an example for achieving high efficiency as well as low input current ripples.

Bio: Dr. Caisheng Wang received the BSEE and MSEE degrees from Chongqing University, China, in 1994 and 1997, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from Montana State University (MSU), Bozeman, in 2006, all in electrical engineering. From 1997 to 2002, he worked as a research engineer and later the vice Chair of the Department of High Voltage Engineering at Zhejiang Electric Power Research Institute, Hangzhou, China. In August 2006, he joined Wayne State University (WSU), Detroit, MI, where he now is a Professor with the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. Supported by NSF, DOE, Great Lake Protection Foundation (GLPF), WSU, and other sources with a total of $10 million, he has been teaching and conducting research in the areas of renewable/alternative energy systems, power systems, power electronics, distributed generation, Microgrid and Smart Grid, and electric vehicles. He has authored/co-authored over 190 journal and conference papers with high citations, several book chapters, and two books.

He has served as an associate editor for several international journals, including IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, Electric Power Components and Systems, SAE Journal of Electronic & Electrical System for Passenger Cars, and served as a grant review panelist for NSF and the Department of Energy. He has won awards including Excellence in Teaching of College of Engineering, Excellence in Teaching of the Division of Engineering Technology at WSU, IEEE PES EDPG Prize Paper Award, an MSU Foundation Graduation Achievement Nomination Award, and an Honorary Citizenship, City of Bozeman, MT, Award.

Watch the recorded seminar

Upcoming CURENT Power and Energy Seminars

February 25 - Abhishek Dubney, Vanderbilt University - Transit Vehicle Energy Optimization 

March 4 - Micron Technology Tech Talk

March 11 - Jingjing Sun & Min Lin, University of Tennessee - GaN-based T-type rectifer / High insulation voltage APS

March 18 - Spring Break, no seminar

March 25 - Fei Lu - High Efficiency Solid State Circuit Breaker for MVDC System Applications

April 1 - Timothy Fritch, TVA - Solar Overview

April 8 - Le Xie, Texas A&M - An Open-access Cross-domain Approach to Analyzing the Impact of Extreme Events on the Electricity Sector: What We Learned from COVID-19 and 2021 Texas Winter Outage

April 15 - Spring Break, no class

April 22 - Agasthya Ayachit, Mercedes Benz - eDrive Platforms and Power Electronics

April 29 - Natt Praisuwanna & Pay Kritprajun, University of Tennessee - Fault detection in inverter based grids / reactive power allocation among PV inverters

May 6 - Rupy Sawhney, University of Tennessee - People-Centric Operational Excellence Model

May 10 - Joe Zhou, Kettering University - Energy Storage Systems