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The rise of hydrogen as an energy storage means and its associated technologies have prompted the implementation of hydrogen generation systems based on electrolyzers. Electrolyzers exhibit complex behaviour and their implementation is not immediate, leading to the use of tools such as Digital Replicas (DR) for their study. This paper presents a DR for a Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzer (PEMEL) through the development of an Equivalent Circuit Model (ECM) that describes the static behaviour of the individual cells comprising it. This research is focused on contributing to hydrogen generation with the main objective of using this energy vector for energy storage applications. For this purpose, an installation consisting of a PEMEL and a set of auxiliary equipment required for its proper operation and for measuring key electrolyzer parameters such as current, voltage, hydrogen flow rate, temperature, etc. is implemented. Furthermore, a Data Acquisition System (DAQ) is available to collect process information for later analysis. The PEM cell model is obtained through an experimental process based on the determination of internal resistance to calculate the remaining key parameters. The successful functioning and suitability of the DR and developed model are reported through experimental data obtained from the PEMEL under operating conditions.

Hydrogen is an energy carrier with increasing relevance in the current energy scenario since it contributes to reduce fossil fuels dependence and carbon emissions for a sustainable development. For its generation, Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) technology uses water and electricity to produce hydrogen and oxygen, avoiding pollutants. In this paper, a novel data acquisition and monitoring system for PEM hydrogen generators is presented. The main magnitudes of the PEM electrolyzer (PEMEL) such as current, voltage, pressure, hydrogen flow, etc., are sensed and acquired by an industrial controller. A middleware layer gathers the measurements through a communication network and stores them in a database. The user accesses online to this information in real time through a web-based interface. All components and functions are orchestrated according to an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) architecture, integrating industrial equipment, IoT software and sensing devices, which constitutes a novelty in literature. Experimental data of a PEMEL under real operating conditions are reported to prove the feasibility and successful performance of the developed system.

Energy storage through Lithium-ion Batteries (LiBs) is acquiring growing presence both in commercially available equipment and research activities. Smart power grids, e.g. smart grids and microgrids, also take advantage of LiBs to deal with the intermittency of renewable energy sources and to provide stable voltage. In this context, monitoring and data acquisition tasks are required for the proper operation and continuous surveillance and tracking of the LiB. In this paper, a monitoring system devoted to visualizing the operation of a LiB is presented. Internet of Things (IoT) technology is used to deploy the system, namely, Grafana software is applied for data analytics and visualization, being hosted in a microcomputer Raspberry Pi. The user is able to access online to graphical and numerical real time information about the LiB magnitudes (current, voltage, temperature, state of charge, etc.). Such a LiB acts as the backbone of a microgrid which hybridizes photovoltaic power with hydrogen generation and consumption. The proposal is a novelty in scientific literature since it overcomes limitations identified in previous works such as absence of long-term operation, of medium-scale power/capacity, of alerts for safe range of critical magnitudes, of real operating conditions, and of compatibility/interoperability management. The design and implementation of the monitoring system is reported together with experimental data of the LiB to prove its feasibility and successful performance.