Author Identifier (ORCID)
Mohammad Nur-E-Alam: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1969-3348
Abstract
Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) systems’ reliable operation under variable load conditions is a significant challenge because of voltage fluctuations, transient variations, and the high computational requirements of sophisticated control techniques like intelligent and model predictive controllers. Even while these state-of-the-art methods provide great precision, complexity and cost often limit their real-time applicability, underscoring the need for a simpler but efficient control solution. To achieve effective voltage regulation in PEMFC systems, this study suggests a DC–DC buck converter in conjunction with a comparator-based proportional–integral–derivative (PID) control technique. In order to provide stable operation under both constant and changing load situations, the method uses a feedback-driven system with optimally adjusted PID parameters. This methodology has been proven by extensive MATLAB/Simulink simulations, which include step changes and varied resistive loads. The results show that the suggested approach maintains a steady output voltage of 20 V over a wide load spectrum (1 Ω to 61 Ω) while achieving a quick settling time of around 1.4 s, an overshoot of just 0.24%, and a low voltage ripple of 0.24%. Additionally, during transient periods, the system shows low oscillations and excellent durability. In conclusion, the proposed comparator-based PID control strikes a good compromise between ease of implementation and performance, making it a practical and effective replacement for resource-intensive state-of-the-art controllers in real-time PEMFC energy management tasks.
Keywords
Current comparator, PEMFC, PID control, variable resistive load, voltage regulation
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
5-1-2026
Volume
89
Publication Title
Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments
Publisher
Elsevier
School
School of Science
Funders
The Deanship of Research and Graduate Studies at King Khalid University, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for funding this work through Large Research Project under grant number RGP. 2/64/46. Also, this work is also supported by the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia through the HICoE grant (JPT.S(BPKI)2000/016/018/015JId.4(21)/2022001HICOE), AAIBE Chair of Renewable Energy grant (202202KETTHA), NEC-2025 grant (J510051142) from Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Malaysia, and the School of Science, Edith Cowan University, Australia.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Comments
Abedin, T., Paw, J. K. S., Razak, N. N. A., Phing, C. C., Tak, Y. C., Mahmud, M., Soudagar, M. E. M., Khan, T. Y., Islam, M. T., & Nur-E-Alam, M. (2026). Dynamic load assessment of PEM fuel cell systems under PID-based control strategies for sustainable operation. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, 89, 104996. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seta.2026.104996