Performance Investigation of an Optimal Control Strategy for Zero-Emission Operations of Shipboard Microgrids

TL;DR

This paper tackles zero-emission, secure power management for shipboard microgrids by formulating a MILP that jointly optimizes unit commitment and economic dispatch for a system comprising diesel generators, a PEMFC, and a BESS, while incorporating zero-emission constraints and ship speed considerations. The MILP, implemented in MATLAB/GAMS, accounts for fuel, hydrogen, CO2 costs, generator start-up, and battery degradation, with security constraints to satisfy IACS requirements. Simulations on a notional all-electric ship with Markov-based loads show meaningful CO2 reductions and maintained reliability, including zero-emission operation within fjord navigation, and reveal sizing trade-offs from sensitivity analyses. The results provide actionable insights for sizing FC and BESS units and indicate a clear path toward extending the framework with model predictive control for real-time operation.

Abstract

This work introduces an efficient power management approach for shipboard microgrids that integrates diesel generators, a fuel cell, and battery energy storage system. This strategy addresses both unit commitment and power dispatch, considering the zero-emission capability of the ship, as well as optimizing the ship's speed. The optimization is done through mixed integer linear programming with the objective of minimizing the operational cost of all the power resources. Evaluations are conducted on a notional all-electric ship, with electrical load simulated using a Markov chain based on actual measurement data. The findings underscore the effectiveness of the proposed strategy in optimizing fuel consumption while ensuring protection against blackout occurrences.

Figures (15)

• Figure 1: System Architecture, adapted from ESARS
• Figure 2: Specific hydrogen consumption curve.
• Figure 3: oc and power profile.
• Figure 4: cii comparison.
• Figure 5: Cost comparison.