Energy management for a PEMFC–PV hybrid system

•The proposed hybrid structure is a grid-connected system composed of a PV panel, a FC, a battery, and a SC.•The output voltage of each component is regulated using a buck converter controlled by a type-III compensator.•All these components share one DC bus.•Loads can be the used battery, the grid, a DC load and/or an AC load.•The proposed topology offers a simple management technique using a low cost system controller. Most renewable energy sources depend on climatic circumstances and lack consistency even during a single day. The Hybrid System (HS) solves this drawback by relying on many types of renewable sources and managing them to get a satisfactory continuous power. In this paper, a grid connected HS composed of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC), a Photovoltaic panel (PV), a battery and a Supercapacitor (SC) is proposed. Sources are pushed to deliver their maximum power thanks to a Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT). The output voltage of each component is regulated using a buck converter controlled by a type-III compensator. Consequently, HS components share the power on a single DC bus. The proposed topology offers a simple management technique using an affordable system controller. In order to illustrate our approach, a prototype is modeled, simulated and implemented on an emulator of a real system.