Hybrid Energy Storage Systems, Converter Topologies, Energy Management Systems, and Future Prospects of Green Marine Technology: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Over the decades, significant research on renewable energy systems (RESs) and their diverse applications has been conducted. Various RESs, including fuel cells (FCs), solar, wind, biomass, and hydroenergy, have emerged as sustainable substitutes for fossil fuels. Unlike fossil fuels, these renewable energy sources are environmentally friendly, applicable to rural areas, user-friendly, and cost-effective. Various sectors have adopted these energy sources based on their specific requirements and applications. Recently, FCs, particularly proton exchange membrane FCs (PEMFCs), have been employed in various industrial sectors, notably in hybrid electric vehicles. Additionally, PEMFCs have significantly transformed the marine industry. To enhance performance, energy storage system (ESS) components, such as batteries and supercapacitors, are often combined with PEMFCs to create hybrid energy storage systems (HESSs). HESSs can mitigate sudden fluctuations in load demand, especially when FCs alone are insufficient to meet power requirements. Various modeling techniques have been proposed to effectively configure HESSs. However, a critical challenge is to ensure efficient power sharing among the different ESSs. For this purpose, numerous research articles on optimizing the performance of HESS control strategies have been published. These strategies have been categorized into groups based on their specific applications. This article provides a comprehensive review by summarizing, elucidating, and consolidating the characteristics, limitations, future directions, and real-time applications of various HESS converter topologies and energy management systems by analyzing current and previous studies.