Tutorial: fuel cell system modelling

The Virtual FCS project

Virtual FCS was a European project to make the design of systems that combine fuel cells and batteries faster, cheaper and easier. The team built a toolkit that links a system model to physical testing in the loop, so that components and control strategies can be examined before hardware is committed.

The platform is built on OpenModelica and is open source. That choice matters: it allows companies and research groups to inspect the models, adapt them and contribute improvements back to the community.

What the tutorial covered

1. The modelling approach The ideas behind the Virtual FCS library and its system model.
2. OpenModelica and the library A guided introduction to the environment and the model structure.
3. Battery and fuel cell models How the core components are represented and combined.
4. Range extender example A worked case for a fuel cell electric vehicle powertrain.

Participants were expected to have OpenModelica version 1.14 installed so they could follow the demonstration. The library is available from the project repository.

Organisers