631

HYBRID POWER-SUPPLY SYSTEM COMPOSED OF PHOTOVOI.TAIC AND FUEL-CELL SYSTEMS

N. Kato, K. Kurozumi, N. Susuki and S. Muroyama

NTT Facilities Inc., Japan
and one stand-alone hybrid power-supply

ABSTRACT

system

composed of photovoItaic and fuel-cell systems.

This paper describes a hybrid power-supply system
that combines a photovoitaic system with a fuel-cell

2.

system for use as an auxiliary gene.rator for long-term

SUPPLY SYSTEMS

backup. The hybrid system exhausts no harmful gases

such as NOx and SOx, and noise and vibration levels

are much lower than those of conventional systems

that combine a photovoltaic system with an engine
generator.

The

hybrid system

environmentally

is

friendly and requires little maintenance. We have

developed two grid-connected hybrid power-supply
systems

and

system.

The

stand-alone
former

hybrid

has

power-supply

been

introduced

experimentally into on-line computer systems for data

communications, and the latter has been introduced
into a repeater station for wireless communications.

GRID-CONNECTED

HYBRID

2.1 Configuration
The configurations of the two grid-connected hybrid

power-supply systems -are shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Both systems use 5-kW photovoltaic modules, an

interactive inverter, 17 pieces of 38-Ah, 12-V valve

regulated

lead-acid

(VRLA)

Clean-energy

systems

telecommunications

battery

cell (PEFC) systems, and a power controller. The

system shown in Fig. 1 additionally uses two l-kW
uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs).

are

in

high

demand
and

for
data

powered system is connected to the UPSs on the

output side of the interactive inverter (Fig. 1). The

communications systems. Photovoltaic systems are

DC-powered

now widely used for telecommunications systems,

inverter on the. input side (Fig. 2).

such as for repeater stations and remotc tcrminal (RT)

optical

way the fuel-cell systems are connected. The AC

powering

in

batteries,

charger, two 1-kW portable polymer electrolyte fuel

The main difference between these two systems is the

1. INTRODUCTION

boxes

POWER

networks.

photovoltaic systems are

these

In

used

either

networks,
as

grid

connected or a stand-alone system. Both systems

require an auxiliary generator in case of a lengthy
power failure or a period without sunshine.

one

is

connected to the

interactive

We developed and commercialized the l-kW portable

fuel-cell system (2).

Its external appearance and

specifications are shown in Fig. 3 and Table 1. The

system takes about one minute to warm up, and it can
output 1 kW for three hours using two 10-1 hydrogen
gas cylinders. The gas cylinders can be replaced while
fuel-cell system is operating,

which enables

Conventionally, an engine generator is used as an

the

auxiliary generator for long-term backu p. However, an

significantly longer continuous operation. To apply the

engine generator has several disadvantages: it is noisy,

fuel cell system to the hybrid system, we added two

vibrates strongly, emits harmful gases such as NOx

new functions; the fud-cell system can be started and

and SOx, and requires high maintenance. To eliminate

stopped remotely by sending it a signal, and it can

these problems,

alternative

generators

have

been

output warning signals when problems occur.

studied. Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems

ISE (Germany) developed a hybrid power-supply

The powe.r controller includes these functions:

system that combines a photovoltaic system with a

thermoelectric generator for use in a telecommuni

cations repeater station (1).

. control battery charge

We tried to apply a fuel-cell system as an auxiliary

generator for a
generates

photovoltaic system. 1be system

electric

power

by

an

electrochemical

reaction between hy drogen and oxygen; therefore, it

exhausts no harmful gases, and its noise and vibration
levels

are much

lower

compared

to

an

engine

generator. In this paper, we present two grid-connected

INTELEC 2001, 14-1 B October 2001
Conference Publication No. 484, lEE,

detect power failures

monitor battery voltage

start and stop the interactive inverter

start and stop the fuel-cell systems

'display trouble messages of the interactive inverter

and the fuel-cell syste m s
'control the fuel-cell system output power
(only for the hybrid system shown in Fig. 2)

632
Grid

5kW photovoltaic
modules

100VAC

lkW fuelcell
system (x2)

Figure 1: Configuration of grid-connected hybrid power-supply system using

AC-power fuel-cell systems.

Grid

5kW photovoltaic
modules

100VAC

38Ah,12V
batteries
(X17)

Fuel
cells

DC/DC

<

_____ _

Signal

lkW fuelcell
system (x 2)

I
I
I
I
I
I
--------

Datacommunications

equipment

Figure 2: Configuration of grid-connected hybrid powersupply system using

DC-power fuel-cell systems.

633
2.2 Operation
The configurations of the two hybrid grid connec ted

systems differ, but the following operations are the

same. An opetation program installed in the power

controller controls all operations automatically. When

the elect ri c power generated by the photovoltaic

system

exceeds

the

required

load

power,

the

pbotovoltaic system supplies the surplus power to the

power grid by reversing the power flow. On the other

hand, when .the load requires more power than the

photovoltaic system can generate, the grid power is

used to make up for the shortfall. These operations are

the same as in conventional photovoltaic systems.

When a power failure occurs, the photovoltaic system

stops for

Figure 3:

few seconds to avoid affecti ng the grid

External appearance of

portable PEFC system.

power. Then, the photovoltaic system changes to an

isolated operation mode; the power controller operates

the switches so batte ry power is supplied to important

loads for the data-communications equipment on ly

and the interactive inverter is disconnected from the

grid. If the power failure continues for a long time and

TABl E l-Specifications of portable PEEC system

Rated po wer (kVlJ)

Size (mmJ

550(W) x 500(0) x 1000 (H)

Volume (I)

275

Weight (kg)

With two 10-1

120 H. cylinders

battery voltage falls lower than the pre- determined

value, the power controller sends signals that operates

the fuel-cell systems. The fuel-cell systems begin to

warm up after they receive the signals; when they are

ready

to output power, they supply it to the important

loads.

After recovering from a power failure, the power

Noise (dB)

the switches to reconnect the

interactive inverter to the grid and sends signals that

Permissible operation

temperature range tel

Warm up time (min)

Operation time (hr)

controller operates

( Hz
at 1 kW, with two 10-1)
cylinders
40 (1

m from system)
0-40

stop the fuel-cell systems. When the fuel-cell systems

stop, the grid resumes supplying power to the loads,

and the battery charger starts charging the batteries

3.1 Conliguration

The advantage of the hybrid system shown in Fig. 1 is

hybrid power-supply system. This system addition al ly

with grid power.

Figure

shows the configurations of our stand-alone

that a power failure does not interrupt power supply to

uses a wind generator as a power generator. It is

stops running for a few seconds, because the UPSs

wind generator, a lO-kW DC interactive converter, a

the hybrid system shown in Fig. 2 interrupts the power

Ah, 2-V VRLA batteries, and a l-kW DC-power

system stops; however, the capacity of the line used to

DC interactive converter supplies -48-VDC power to

increasing the number of parallel connecting fuel-cell

supplies 100-VAC power to the ventilation fan, lights,

the important loads when the

photovoItaic system

supply power to the loads during this time. In contrast,

supply for a few

seconds when the photovoltaic

supply power to important loads can be enhanced by

systems.

These

systems

composed of 7.7-kW photovoltaic modules, a l-kW

l-kW converter, a 750-VA inverter, 23 pieces of 2000-

portable phosphoric acid fuel-cell (PAFC) system. The

the telecommunications equipment, and the inverter

and outlets. We set the number and capacity of the

two

grid-connected

were

introd ced

hybrid

into

power-supply

on-line

computer

systems for data communications in an experiment in

March 2000 and are now being field-tested.

VRLA batteries so they can supply power to the loads

over seven continuous days without sunshine or wind.

The external appearance of the photovoltaic modules

and the wind generator is shown in Fig. 5. The

photovoltaic modules are mounted onto a pole to

3. STAND-ALONE HYBRID POWER-SUPPLY

SYSTEM

reduce the installation area and to avoid being covered

with snow in winter. The temperature of this region

falls to around -30C in winter, so to prevent the low

634
7.7-kW
photovollaic
modules

8 VDC
-4
t-r-__
_.,._-,--_______---i

l-kWwind
generator

Telecommunications equipment

Ventilation

\--+--I
l-kWfuel
cell system

fan

Ughts

Outiets

Heater

Dehumidifier

Drain

pump

Figure 4: Configuration of stand-alone hybrid power-supply system.

temperatures

from

affecting

performances

of

the

converter, batteries, or fuel-celI system, these parts are

installed in the basement of the holding box (Fig. 5).
The installation of the converter and batteries

are

shown in Fig. 6. The lO-kW DC interactive converter

is composed of two 5-kW converter units. These units,
the l-kW converter unit for the wind generator, and
the 750-VA inverter unit are all mounted onto the
same rack.
Figure 7 shows the in!>1allation of the portable PAFC
system.

This

system

was

developed

before

the

development of portable PEFC systems and is not

being produced anymore. The PAFC system operates
for

three

hours

using

cylinders; in addition,

three

6.7-1

hydrogen

gas

replacing the hydrogen-gas

cylinders while the PAFC system is operating, like in

the PEFC system, enables much longer continuous
operation. The PAFC system takes about ten minutes
to warm up, which is significantly longer than the
PEFC system. However, we chose the PAFC system
because it performs better at low temperatures. To
apply it to the stand-alone hybrid system, we added
the same new functions as to the PEFC one.

Figure 5: External appearance of photovoltaic

modules and wind generator.

3.2 Operation
When the total output power of the photovoltaic and
wind generation is s ufficient to power the loads, it is
supplied to the loads, and surplus power is used to
charge the VRLA batteries. On the other hand, when
the total output power is insufficient to power the
loads during periods of no sunshine or wind, the
batteries back-up the required power of the load. If the
non-sunshine or non-wind period continues for

long

time and the VRLA-battery voltage falls to the pre-

determined

value,

the

DC

interactive

convc.rtc..r

automatically sends a warning signal to an off-site

maintenance person and an operation signal to the
fueJ-celI system. The fuel-ceIJ system begins to warm
up after it receives the signal, and when it is ready to
output power, it supplies power to charge the batteries.
Here, the state of the VRLA-battery voltage falling to
the pre-determined value corresponds to a continuous
non-sunshine or non-wind period over six days.

635
If the non-sunshine or non -wind condition continues

much longer and the batteries cannot supply power

any longer, we can use a portable e ngine generator and

a portable rectifier to manually supply power to the

loads and to charge the batteries (Fi g.

4). The

portable

engine generator also powers a heater, a dehumidifier,

and a drain pump to create comfortable working

conditions for the maintenance person.

This stand-alone hybrid power-supply system was

introduced

into

repeater

station

for

wireless

communications in December 1998. Since then, the

system

operated

automatically

for

long t ime

providing backup power, demonstrating that the hybrid

system works well.

Figure 6; Installation of converter, inverter,

and batteries.

4. CONCLUSION
We have developed two grid-connected hybrid power
supply systems and a stand-alone hybrid power-supply
system tbat combine a pbotovoltaic with a fuel-cell

system for use as auxiliary generators for long-term

backup.

They are controlled automatically by

operation program. They are

en

an

vironmentally f ri end ly

and require little maintenance, and we expect it to be

in demand for application in telecommuni-cations and

for general use .

REFERENCES
1. A. Steinhuser, W. Schultz, H. Schmidt,

"Pbotovoltaic Power Supply for Telecommunication

Network Computers in Remote Areas", TELESCON

2000, 221-225.
2. N. Kato , T. Murao, K. Fujii, T. Aoki, S. Muroyama,
"l-kW Portable Fuel Cell Syste m Based on PEFCs"
TELESCON 2000, 209-213.

Figure 7: Installation of portable

PAFC system.