On the Modelling of Fuel Cell-Fed Power System in Electrified Vessels

Electrification of vessel power and propulsion system has been widely utilized in the shipbuilding industry in recent years. It is expected to be adopted in all marine vessel segments as the increasingly strict marine greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions regulations push the maritime fleet to decrease its reliance on conventional fuels such as marine diesel oil (MDO). With the development of sustainable energy sources and energy storage technologies, such as fuel cells, batteries, and super-capacitors, these renewable energy sources are integrated into the marine electric power system to reduce or even achieve zero-emission operation. A comprehensive shipboard power system model is the crucial foundation for the further research. In this paper, a hybrid shipboard power configuration will be studied and modeled using Matlab/Simulink. The detailed model using average converters’ models for the ship power system will be described. Besides, the simulation results shall be shown and analyzed considering a typical harbor tugboat load profile.