2016 IEEE Electrical Power and Energy Conference (EPEC)
MATLAB/Simulink Modelling and Experimental
Results of a PEM Electrolyzer Powered by a Solar Panel
Mohamed Albarghot and Luc Rolland
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John’s, NL, Canada, A1B3X5
Mma216@mun.ca or lrolland@mun.ca
Abstract – in this paper, the solar panels are used to power
an electrolyzer to separate the water into hydrogen and oxygen
gas. The electrical equivalent circuit for the proton exchange
membrane electrolyzer was developed and implemented in
MATLAB/Simulink along with the atmospheric hydrogen
storage tank. The voltage (2 volt) and current (1 ampere) were
supplied in a similar manner in order to compare the simulated
and experimental results. The hydrogen amount is calculated to
be 7.345 (ml/min A) from the model as well as the experimental
set up. The experimental and simulation results were matched.
Index Terms – Photovoltaic, DC/DC Buck Convertor,
Electrolyzer, Hydrogen Tank, and MATLAB/Simulink
I. INTRODUCTION
World transport depends heavily on petroleum, as it
supplies 95% of total energy and is responsible for almost a
quarter of global energy-related emissions. Marine ships
around the world that run on fossil fuels are also causing
many environmental issues. Over the past decade, transport
emissions have increased at a faster rate than those of any
other energy sector. The transportation sector accounts for
28% of all US greenhouse gas emissions, 34% of all carbon
dioxide emissions, 36%-78% of the main components of
urban air pollution, and 68% of all oil consumption [1].
Global transport activity will continue to increase along with
economic growth. International freight has been dominated
by ocean shipping, with ships continually increasing in size
and number. Fossil fuel usage also raises many important
concerns and challenges such as climate change and supply
cost increases; for example, in 2002, the use of fossil fuels
was responsible for 86% of the world’s energy consumption.
In 2003, US electrical energy demands were also reaching a
higher value of 24% of total demand around the globe [2]. It
has become essential to seek alternative sources of renewable
energy that can be easily captured by using waves, sun and
wind. Statistics suggest that changing to fuel cell technology
could save more than one million per ship per year in fuel
costs. The sun, wind and waves provide an unlimited source
of renewable energy; solar energy is known as the most
sustainable source of the renewable energy. For example,
27.7GW of photovoltaic (PV) systems were installed
worldwide in 2011. Compared with 2010, there were also six
978-1-5090-1919-9/16/$31.00 ©2016 IEEE
countries where more than 1 GW of PV has been installed in
2011 [3].
Batteries are not the solution for energy storage since they
provide for short term solutions and waist contents comprise
significant and dangerous pollutants. Hydrogen remains the
only valid source for energy storage. Producing hydrogen can
be achieved in large quantities from water electrolysis
knowing that water is a clean resource available in large
quantities everywhere. Electrolysis will be studied to be
brought inboard vehicles such a cargo ships.
This paper is aimed to improve the results of modeling the
electrolysis system and obtaining experimental results. The
set-up is powering the electrolyzer with a small PV solar
panel that produces 2 Volts and 1 Ampere. The hydrogen was
produced and stocked into the tank. The mathematical model
of the electrolysis has been implemented in
MATLAB/Simulink. In the second section, the system
component models are detailed. In the third section, the
simulation and experimental set-ups are described. In the
fourth section, we examine and compare the simulation and
experimental results.
II. SYSTEM COMPONENTS
1. The Photovoltaic solar panel
The solar energy is transferred directly into electrical
energy in the PV panel through a basic physical process. The
physical behavior of any solar cell is very similar to the
classical p-n junction diode [4]. The relationship between the
output current I and the output voltage V is found the formula
below:
( )
I = I ph − Is * e(V+I*RS ) /( N*Vt ) −1 − Is2 *
(e(V +I*RS ) /( N2*Vt )
)
−1 − (V + I * Rs ) / RP.
……….(1)
where I ph is the solar –induced current that is equal to
I Ph 0 * (I r / I R 0 ) , where I r is the irradiance (light intensity
) in W/m2 falling on the cell. I Ph 0 is the measured solar –
generated current for the irradiance I R 0 . I s is the saturation
current of the first diode. I s 2 is the saturation current of the
second diode. Vt is thermal voltage that is equal to KT/q,
where K is the Boltzmann constant . T is the Device
simulation temperature parameter value. Q is the elementary
charge on an electron. N and N2 are the quality factor of the
first and second diodes, respectively. V is the voltage across
 2016 IEEE Electrical Power and Energy Conference (EPEC)

the solar cell [4]. Fig. 1 represents the electrical equivalent
circuit of the solar cell. The I-V and P-V characteristics
curves of the PV module are used in this work under
o
irradiance of 1000 W/m2 at 25 C as it is illustrated in Fig.2.
In solar energy, temperature plays important roles because
the four parameters (Ir, Is, Rs, and Vt) are function of
temperature. It is clearly seen that the lower temperature is
the higher power is obtained from the PV [5].
Fig.1 electrical equivalent circuit of the solar cell [4].
also the ratio of output voltage to the input voltage. The duty
cycle is also given by the following:
Vo I
= D = s …………………………….……... (2)
Vs Io
where Vo and Vs are output and input voltages ,respectively .
Is and Io are input and output current, respectively [6]. The
selection parameter of the buck convertor is based on the
voltage and current output of the PV. In this work, the PV
output is designed to be 5V and 2A. Since the electrolyzer
load is designed for 2V and 1A, it is become necessary to
select a buck convertor in order to regulate the voltage and
current. The values of buck convertor parameter such as the
inductor, capacitor, and duty cycle were obtained from the
website for desired input values for the electrolyzer. Table 1
shows the values of the selected buck convertor. The buck
convertor model is generated in MATLAB/Simulink in order
to control the output and input between the PV and
electrolyzer as shown in Fig.3. The PID controller is used to
check the error value as the difference between the desired
set point and the measured variable voltage.

Table 1 the values of buck convertor

Item Value Units

Volts In 5 V
Volts Out 2 V
Load Current 1 A
Irms 0.99 A
Duty Cycle 36.11 %
Frequency 40 KHz
L 87e-6 H
C 29.17e-6 F

Fig.2 I-V and P-V curves of the PV module

2. The DC/DC Buck Convertor

The buck converter is defined as step-down DC-DC

voltage converter. The average output voltage is always less
than the input voltage. There are two modes for the buck
converter in terms of diode circuits. In the first mode, when
the switch is on, the diode becomes reverse biased, so that the
supplied energy is stored into an inductor. In the second
mode, the diode becomes forward biased when the switch is
off, due to the load; it receives the energy from the inductor.
The input stays isolated from the output [6]. The purpose of
buck convertor is to regulate DC power supplies and to
control DC motor speed. Duty cycle (D) is known as the ratio
of the ON time of the switch to the total switching time, and
Fig. 3 The Buck convertor model in MATLAB/Simulink.

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 2016 IEEE Electrical Power and Energy Conference (EPEC)

3. Electrolyzer where ΔG is Gibbs free energy change(J/mol) of hydrogen

gas and F is Faraday constant (96487 C/mol). If the water is
An electrolyzer is defined as an apparatus that separates
in liquid phase, then ΔG for any given temperature T ( C )
o
the water (2H2O) into hydrogen (2H2) and oxygen (O2).
Water electrolysis may be classified as a reverse process of can be calculated by Eq. 5:
hydrogen that is fed into a Fuel cell. In terms of an electro- ( )
ΔG = 285840 − 163.2 273 + T ….……………....(5)
chemical reaction happening in the fuel cell to generate DC The value of Vi is calculated under nominal operating
electricity, it converts DC electrical energy into chemical o
energy stored in hydrogen. An electrolyzer electrical circuit conditions at room temperature of 20 ( C ) and 1 atm
can be represented as a voltage sensitive nonlinear DC load, pressure.it amounts to 1.223V, which is useful for
so that the higher voltage applied is the higher load current is electrolysis and hydrogen production. It is also associated
circulating and the more H2 can be generated [7]. There are with electro chemistry, so that the one molar volume Vm is
two types of electrolysis, Alkaline and Proton exchange known from the ideal gas expression in Eq. 6, [8]:
membrane (PEM), The PEM cells are known to be reversible R (273 + T )
devices for hydrogen systems when compared to alkaline- Vm = …………………………….....…(6)
based electrolysis. They also have many advantages like P
smaller dimension and mass, lower power consumption, where R and P are the ideal gas constant (0.082 l atm k-1
lower operating temperatures [7]. The equivalent circuit of a mol-1) and pressure, respectively.
proton exchange membrane electrolyzer is created in The hydrogen production rate which is VH (ml/min) with
MATLAB/Simulink in order to run the simulation. Fig. 4 respect to the input current I (A) is determined by Eq. 7, [8]:
shows the equivalent circuit of the single PEM  c 
electrolyzer[8,9].  I  
 10 ml  60 s   s  
3
V H = Vm ( I )  
 l  min  2 F (C )  ………(7)
 
I
= Vm (10 3 )(60)
2F
The electro chemical hydrogen energy per second PH2 which
is equal to the VH is calculated by [8]:
2 FVi
( )
PH 2 = Vm 10 3 (60)
I
2 F Vm (10 3 )(60) ………….(8)
= Vi I
Fig. 4 Equivalent circuit for single PEM electrolyzer[8,9] From the above equations, it can be clearly seen that the
useful power which is delivered from the electrolyzer cell
relies on the electrolyzer input current I and ideal voltage Vi.
In order to obtain the I-V and hydrogen production The input electrical power P of PEM electrolyzer cell, which
characteristics, some equations have been developed for is the function of the VH, can be determined by:
steady state conditions and implemented in
MATLAB/Simulink. Eq. (3) models the electrolysis process
P = VI = I 2 Ri + Ierev
and it is written as follows:
2
 2F 
 1  = Vm  Ri +
V =  * I + 1 .476 = 0 .326 I + 3
 V H 10 (60) 
 3 .064  ………..(3) ………………………(9)
1 .476 ~
= IR i + e rev  2F 
V H 
 V 10 3 (60) erev
 m 
Eq. (3) indicates a simple equivalent circuit model for the
PEM, which has an initial resistance of Ri, and reverse
In this work, the reversible potential erev with respect to the
potential erev. The ideal potential Vi (electro chemical) is
ideal voltage Vi is calculated to be 1.476V, and the resistance
calculated by Eq. 4, [8]: (Ri) of PEM subsystem also equals to 0.326 Ohm at
ΔG o
temperature 20 ( C ) and 1 atm. These values are well
Vi = …………………………………………….(4)
2F confirmed by the MATLAB/Simulink module. The input

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 2016 IEEE Electrical Power and Energy Conference (EPEC)

current I (A) of the electrolyzer is modelled by Eq. 3, and the hydrogen stored and delivered to the fuel cell or other
Eq.7 is applied for hydrogen production rates VH. For steady applications. Fig. 6 shows the Simulink model of the
state operation, Eq. 10 is used to simplify and determine the hydrogen storage system.
input of I-V model of the PEM electrolyzer cell as function
of pressure and temperature [8]. Fig .5 illustrates the static
model for the PEM electrolyzer in order to compare the
experimental results.
V (T , P ) = IR i + e rev (T , P ) …………………. (10)

Fig.6 Simulink model of the hydrogen storage system [10]

III. SIMULATION & EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP

The simulation is done in MATLAB/Simulink

environment by creating each component separately, so that
the error can be easily controlled and the simulation blocks
debugged. Each system block has been implemented and
Fig. 5 the MATLAB/Simulink module for PEM electrolyzer[9]. studied to ensure that each one is sufficiently precise to run
the simulation and to give adequate results. The modules for
4. Hydrogen Tank Modeling PV solar panels, DC/DC buck convertor, electrolyzer, and the
hydrogen tank have been created and well matched with each
Compressed hydrogen gas or liquid hydrogen can be other. The simulation is valid to model different cases. Fig. 7
stored in tanks by using different techniques like physical shows the Simulink model for the whole renewable energy
hydrogen storage [10]. In order to store the hydrogen gas that system. Fig. 8 represents the experimental set-up for the
is produced by the electrolyzer, a dynamic module for the solar panel, DC/DC buck convertor, electrolyzer and
tank is created in MATLAB/Simulink, and can be expressed hydrogen /oxygen tanks. The experiments are produced with
as follows, Eq. 11, [10]: a Horizon kit. The reading of hydrogen production was
reported in (ml/min). Each component configuration was
N H 2 RTb collected from the data sheets.
Pb − Pbi = z × …………………………..(11)
M H 2Vb
where Pb is the pressure of the tank that is measured in
(Pascal), Pbi is the initial pressure of the storage tank in
(Pascal), R is the universal gas constant (J/kmol K), Tb is the
operating temperature (K), Vb is the volume of the tank
(m3), T is the temperature, and Z is the compressibility factor
as a function of the pressure as shown in Eq. 12:
PVm
Z= ……………………………………..…………(12)
RT
where P and Vm are the pressure and molar volume,
Fig. 7 Simulink model for the whole renewable energy system.
respectively. It has been noticed that this model determines
the tank pressure using the ratio of hydrogen flow rate to the
tank [10]. Eq. 11 is implemented in Simulink in order to get

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 2016 IEEE Electrical Power and Energy Conference (EPEC)

Fig. 8 experimental set-up for renewable system

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The results from both simulation and experiments are
now compared. The maximum voltage from the PV in Fig 9 Current (A) vs hydrogen production (ml/min)
experimental set-up is designed to be 2V and the current is
reaching 1A, however the maximum power of the PV panel
is depending on the weather such as cloud and rain can
reduce the collected energy. In this work, the maximum
voltage and current from the PV panel were obtained and the
electrolyzer was able to generate hydrogen with maximum
output. Fig 9 shows the hydrogen production (ml/min) versus
the current (A), and the simulation results are in accordance
with the experimental results. Note that the characteristic
response is linear [8]. The amount of hydrogen that is
obtained from the simulation is 7.461 ml/min, and the value
from the experiments amounts to 7.0 ml/min. The
discrepancy is due to the sun variability. Fig 10 illustrates the
input power with the hydrogen production (ml/min). It can be
noticed that the hydrogen production increases linearly with
the input power; thus the power increases the hydrogen
production will increase as well. Table 2 shows the hydrogen
production (ml/min) from the experiments, and the time was
2 min. Fig. 11 represents the pressure inside the hydrogen
tank model. The hydrogen quantity increased with time.

Table 2 experimental results

Time (min) H2 production (ml/min)

2 13.99 Fig. 10 Input power (w) vs Hydrogen production (ml/min)
1 6.995

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 2016 IEEE Electrical Power and Energy Conference (EPEC)

REFERENCES

Fig. 11 the pressure inside the model hydrogen tank
V. CONCLUSION
In this work, the renewable energy hydrogen production
and storage system has been developed. The PV solar panels
were examined in order to capture the sun as long as it is
available. The electrolyzer is used to consume the power that
is generated from PV panels. The DC/DC buck convertor is
used along with the system to regulate and maintain the
current values which are fed to the electrolyzer. The PID
controller is used to check the error value as the difference
between the desired set point and the measured variable
voltage. It is assumed that all system components to be
steady state and the nonlinearity behavior kept for further
studies. The results from both the simulation and
experimental trials are corresponding (7.2 ml/min).
MATLAB/Simulink provides the simulation environment
helping to integrate such system. The experiments confirm
the results obtained from the model. Finally, this electolysis
unit is environmentally friendly since the waste from it is
oxygen only (O2).
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[11] http://www.horizoneducational.com/wp

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors would like to thank the Libyan Government

for the financial support of this project.