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The purpose of this paper is to propose and compare two energy management strategies (EMSs). First, a classic method based on frequency separation with fixed limits on fuel cell (FC) power is presented and tested. Then, the improvement of the classic strategy is developed and implemented when the main enhancements are its ease of implementation, hydrogen economy and extending hybrid source lifetime.

The proposed EMS is developed using an online variable power limitation of the FC depending on the battery state of charge while ensuring that the energy of batteries remains in its operating depth of discharge (DOD) range.

In the objective to show the benefits of the developed strategy, a comparative analysis was conducted between two strategies. The simulation and experimental results show the effectiveness and gains obtained by the improved energy management system (IEMS) in terms of fuel economy (13 per cent) and decreasing the applied stress on the FC (22 per cent) which leads to a longer life span of the whole system.

The proposed approach is developed and tested by simulation. To confirm it, a test bench has been assembled as hardware in the loop (HIL) real-time system. The presented experimental results confirm the efficiency and show the providing gains of the IEMS.