SOEC LOAD CONFIGURATION METHOD

Abstract

A method of electrolyzer system load configuration includes determining that at least one sensor of multiple heater power supplies is functional, determining whether multiple heater power supplies are connected in parallel, testing a connection between the plural heater power supplies and one or more heaters, and transmitting an electrolyzer system load configuration to one or more electrolyzer module controllers.

Description

FIELD

The embodiments of the present invention generally relate to SOEC load configuration methods.

BACKGROUND

Electric energy generator systems can support variable loads through various configurations. These electric energy generator systems are expected to continuously vary electric energy output to maintain a power quality to the variable loads. Known energy generator systems rely on non-generating, electric energy storage systems, such as batteries, combustion type energy generators, such as diesel generators, and/or external electric energy sources, such as an electric utility grid, to provide electric energy output of variable portions of loads.

SUMMARY

An embodiment method of electrolyzer system load configuration comprises determining that at least one sensor of multiple heater power supplies is functional, determining whether multiple heater power supplies are connected in parallel, testing a connection between the plural heater power supplies and one or more heaters, and transmitting an electrolyzer system load configuration to one or more electrolyzer module controllers.

An embodiment electrolyzer system comprises a heater power supply module and one or more electrolyzer modules. The heater power supply module comprises multiple heater power supplies and a heater power supply module controller connected to the multiple heater power supplies. Each of the one or more electrolyzer modules comprises one or more electrolyzer stacks; one or more heaters connected to the multiple heater power supplies, the one or more heaters comprising at least one of an air heater or a stack heater; and an electrolyzer module controller connected to the one or more heaters and connected to the heater power supply module controller. The heater power supply module controller is configured with controller-executable instructions configured to cause the heater power supply module controller to perform operations comprising: identifying an electrolyzer system load configuration of associations of the multiple heater power supplies with the one or more heaters; and transmitting the electrolyzer system load configuration of the associations of the multiple heater power supplies with the one or more heaters to the electrolyzer module controller.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a component block diagram of an electrolyzer system according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2A is a component block diagram of a heater power supply module of an electrolyzer system according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2B is a component block diagram of an internal steam electrolyzer module of an electrolyzer system according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2C is a component block diagram of an electrolyzer system having one or more internal steam electrolyzer modules according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2D is a component block diagram of an external steam electrolyzer module of an electrolyzer system according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2E is a component block diagram of an electrolyzer system having one or more external steam electrolyzer modules according to various embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a component block diagram of a controller of an electrolyzer system according to various embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a component block and flow diagram of a control process of an electrolyzer system according to various embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a process flow diagram of a method for electrolyzer system load configuration according to various embodiments.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are process flow diagrams of a method for verifying power supply sensor functionality according to various embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a process flow diagram of a method for verifying parallel connection of power supplies according to various embodiments.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are exemplary table of results of verifying parallel connection of power supplies according to various embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a process flow diagram of a method for identifying power supply and heater connection according to various embodiments.

FIG. 10 is an example table of results of verifying parallel connection of power supplies according to various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The various embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. References made to particular examples and implementations are for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

As used herein, the term “storage system” and “energy storage system” are used interchangeably to refer to any form of energy storage that may be converted to electric power, such as electrical storage, mechanical storage, electromechanical storage, electrochemical storage, thermal storage, etc. Examples may include a battery, a capacitor, a supercapacitor, a flywheel, a liquid reservoir, a gas reservoir, etc. In some embodiments, the energy storage system may include any combination of components configured to control electric energy output of the energy storage system, such as an electric connection device and/or an electric energy conditioning device, in response to a signal from a controller and/or an electric energy bus.

As used herein, the terms “energy,” “energy output,” “electric energy,” and “electric energy output” are referred to amounts of electric voltage, current, or power. Examples herein described in terms of any of voltage, current, or power do not limit the scope of the claims and descriptions to such types of energy, energy outputs, electric energy, and electric energy output.

High temperature electrolyzer systems, such as solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) systems, utilize multiple electrical power supplies to supply controlled power to various loads inside SOEC systems, such as SOEC stacks and heaters. Each individual load and multiple loads combined to act as one subsystem utilize dedicated power supplies so that the load can be controlled separately without impacting other subsystems. The number of loads and type of loads in a SOEC system varies depending on application, version, inputs etc.

FIG. 1 illustrates an electrolyzer system suitable for implementing various embodiments. With reference to FIG. 1, an electrolyzer system 100 may be configured with one or more power supplies 102, 104a, 104b, 104c and multiple loads 106a, 106b, 106c, 108. Electrolyzer system 100 depicts an example solid oxide electrolyzer system. Example electrical loads include: (i) an air heater 106a which preheats air provided to the SOEC stacks; (ii) one or more water heaters 106b which superheat steam provided to the stacks and/or convert liquid water to steam, which are also referred to as vaporizers 106b; (iii) one or more stack heaters 106c which heat the electrolyzer stacks 108; (iv) the electrolyzer stacks 108 themselves; and (v) optionally other balance of plant components, such as blowers, valves, etc. (not shown). The one or more power supplies 102, 104a, 104b, and 104c may be electrically connected to one or more respective loads 106a, 106b, 106c, and 108 via one or more electric energy buses 110a, 110b, 112a, 112b, and 112c.

Each electrolyzer system 100 may have a one or more electrolyzer stacks 108 and each electrolyzer stack 108 may have its own DC power supply or set of power supplies connected in parallel, which are referred to as one or more stack power supplies 102, in order to independently control current and/or voltage provided to each electrolyzer stack 108, a column of electrolyzer stacks 108 or a segment of columns (e.g., two or more columns electrically connected in series). The SOEC system 100 may have multiple heaters 106a, 106b, and 106c located in an electrolyzer hotbox.

The one or more stack heaters 106c may be used to heat up and maintain the one or more SOEC stacks 108 at the required high temperatures. The SOEC stack temperatures may be maintained within the range of 750° C.-1100° C. These one or more stack heaters 106c may be placed across the electrolyzer hotbox in different zones and each zone may be controlled independently to attain precise temperature control and thermal uniformity across the electrolyzer stacks 108. The one or more stack heaters 106c in FIG. 1 may be made up of just one heater coil or group of heaters intended to be controlled as one heater. Depending upon the power rating of the one or more stack power supplies 102 and power rating of the group of stack heaters be controlled as one unit, one stack power supply 102 may supply the one or more stack heaters 106c or the one or more stack power supplies 102 may be combined to supply to one group of stack heaters to be controlled as one unit or combination of both. Alternatively, plural stack heaters 106c may be controlled independently to operate at different temperatures from each other to heat different portions of the electrolyzer stack or column to different temperatures.

The one or more air heaters 106a may be used to preheat the air inlet stream provided to the electrolyzer stacks 108. The one or more stack heaters 106c may transfer heat to the one or more electrolyzer stacks 108 through radiation whereas the one or more air heaters 106a may transfer heat to the one or more electrolyzer stacks 108 by convection using the air inlet stream flowing to the stacks as a heat transfer medium. The one or more air heaters 106a in FIG. 1 may be made up of just one heater coil or group of heaters intended to be controlled as one heater. Depending upon the power rating of the one or more heater power supplies 104a and power rating of the group of stack heaters be controlled as one unit, one heater power supply 104a may supply one or more air heaters 106a or one or more heater power supplies 140a may be combined to supply to one group of stack heaters to be controlled as one unit or combination of both.

The one or more water heaters 106b may heat the steam inlet stream provided to the electrolyzer stacks 108 and/or may vaporize water to generate the steam inlet stream. There may be two types of water heaters on a water input line. A main heater on the water input line may convert liquid water to steam, which may be typically referred as one or more vaporizers 106b. That steam may be super-heated with a second heater, which may be typically referred as a steam super heater. The main steam heater 106b may demand much higher electrical power as compared to the steam super heater or any other electrolyzer stack 108 and air heaters 106a. Depending upon the power rating of power supplies and power rating of group of stack heaters be controlled as one unit, one or more heater power supply 104b may supply one or more vaporizers 106b or one or more heater power supplies 104b may be combined to supply to one group of stack heaters to be controlled as one unit or combination of both.

The types of heaters, including one or more vaporizers 106b, their quantity, their power draws can be different based on a type of water input as well. An internal steam electrolyzer system, which may take liquid water as an input and include one or more vaporizers 106b inside the electrolyzer module to produce steam, whereas an external steam electrolyzer system may not have a vaporizer 106b inside as steam may be produced outside of the electrolyzer system. In this case, the water heater 106b may comprise a steam super-heater.

One or more stack power supplies 102 may supply electric energy to the one or more electrolyzer stacks 108. One or more heater power supplies 104c may provide electric energy to the one or more stack heaters 106c. One or more heater power supplies 104a may provide electric energy to the one or more air heaters 106a. One or more heater power supplies 104b may provide electric energy to the one or more vaporizers 106b. Air input (i.e., air inlet stream) 120 may be supplied to the one or more air heaters 106a, at ambient temperature. Heated air 124 may be supplied to the one or more electrolyzer stacks 108. Liquid water 122 may be supplied to the one or more vaporizers 106b (if present) and/or steam super-heaters 106b. Steam (or extra-heated or super-heated steam) 126 may be supplied to the one or more electrolyzer stacks 108.

In the various embodiments, the power supplies may be configured to support the electrolyzer system 100 with or without air heaters 106a and/or water heaters 106b to keep the one or more electrolyzer stacks 108 heated. The electrolyzer system 100 may include one or more of the one or more stack heaters 106c, air heaters 106a, and vaporizers 106b inside the hotbox housing the stacks 108 of the electrolyzer system 100. Alternatively, one or more of the one or more stack heaters 106c, air heaters 106a and/or water heaters 106b may be omitted provided that heat is supplied from an external source.

One method to control temperature inside the hotbox housing the one or more electrolyzer stacks 108 may use the one or more stack heaters 106c to heat up the one or more electrolyzer stacks 108 directly through radiation, and use the one or more air heaters 106a to heat up the air inlet stream and pass the heated air inlet stream to the one or more electrolyzer stacks 108. This type of control using multiple heaters provides precise temperature control and thermal uniformity across the hotbox.

The heat energy generated by the one or more heaters 106a, 106c may be proportional to I²R or V²/R, where I and V are heater current and voltage, and R is resistance of a heater element. A heater power supply designer may choose which parameter (i.e., V or I) to use to control heater power. Here, both parameters may be equivalent. Some embodiments may be described in terms of voltage control or current control, but the embodiments are not so limited. The embodiments may include both V and I control.

In some embodiments, the one or more power supplies 102, 104a-104c may be DC power sources. Heater power control may be provided with an adjustable DC voltage. The one or more stack power supplies 102 may be one or more DC sources with adjustable current (0-Irated) for supplying the one or more electrolyzer stacks 108. The one or more heater power supplies 104c may be one or more DC sources with adjustable voltage (0-Vrated) for supplying the one or more stack heaters 106c. The one or more heater power supplies 104a may be one or more DC sources with adjustable voltage (0-Vrated) for supplying the one or more air heaters 106a. The one or more heater power supplies 104b may be one or more DC sources with adjustable voltage (0-Vrated) for supplying the one or more water heaters 106b.

The power supplied to the SOEC stack 108, and thus used for hydrogen production in the stack, is generally controlled by the controlling DC current flowing through the stack. Therefore, a DC power supply 102 is used for the SOEC stack 108 in some embodiments.

FIGS. 2A-2E illustrate examples of the electrolyzer system 100 according to various embodiments. With reference to FIGS. 1-2E, the electrolyzer system 100 may include one or more heater power supply modules 200, one or more internal steam electrolyzer modules 220 and/or one or more external steam electrolyzer modules 240.

The example in FIG. 2A illustrates a heater power supply module 200, including one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n (e.g., heater power supplies 104a-104c in FIG. 1), where “n” maybe be any integer greater than “1,” such as 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, etc. Each of the one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n may be an electric energy generator (e.g., fossil fuel generator (e.g., electric grid), renewable energy (e.g., solar, wind, geothermal, etc.) generator, fuel cell generator, etc.) or an electric energy storage device (e.g., battery, etc.).

Any one or combination of the one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n may be connected to one or more heater loads (e.g., heaters 106a-106c in FIG. 1) and configured to supply electric energy to the one or more heater loads. For example, only one heater power supply 202a-202n may be connected to one or more of the heater loads. In another example, multiple heater power supplies 202a-202n may be connected together to the same one or more of the heater loads. In some embodiments, the one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n may generate an AC electric energy that may be converted to a DC electric energy via an AC/DC rectifier or inverter (not shown) configured to connect the one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n to the one or more heater loads and provide DC electric energy to the one or more heater loads. In some embodiments, the one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n may generate a DC electric energy that may be conditioned via an DC/DC converter (not shown) configured to connect the one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n to the one or more heater loads and provide DC electric energy to the one or more heater loads.

Each of the one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n may include an energy sensor (not shown). The energy sensor may be configured to sense energy (e.g., power, current and/or voltage) on an energy bus to which the respective heater power supply 202a-202n may be connected. In some embodiments, the energy sensor may sense any energy output of the respective heater power supply 202a-202n. In some embodiments, the energy sensor may sense any energy output of plural heater power supplies 202a-202n.

The heater power supply module 200 may also include a heater power supply module controller 204 connected to the one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n and the energy sensor(s). In some embodiments, the heater power supply module controller 204 may be an individual controller or multiple individual or packaged controllers. The heater power supply module controller 204 may be configured to control an electric energy output of individual ones or groups of the one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n. The heater power supply module controller 204 may be configured to control the electric energy output of the one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n individually or in combination. Controlling the electric energy output of the one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n may include controlling an electric energy output of the heater power supply module 200. In some embodiments, controlling the electric energy output of the one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n may include controlling components of the electrolyzer system 100 configured to connect the one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n and the one or more heater loads.

The heater power supply module controller 204 may also be configured to receive or interpret signals from the energy sensor(s) to indicate a state of the energy sensor associated with one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n. For example, the state of the energy sensor associated with one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n may indicate a level of energy sensed by the energy sensor.

The heater power supply module controller 204 may also be configured to identify an electrolyzer system load configuration of associations of the one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n with the one or more heater loads, as described further herein, for example, with reference to FIGS. 5-10.

FIG. 2B illustrates an internal steam electrolyzer module 220, including one or more stack power supplies 222a-222m (e.g., stack power supply 102 in FIG. 1), one or more electrolyzer stacks 224a-224m (e.g., electrolyzer stack 108 in FIG. 1), one or more stack heaters 226 (e.g., stack heater 106c in FIG. 1), one or more air heaters 228 (e.g., air heater 106a in FIG. 1), and one or more water heaters/vaporizers 230a-230p (e.g., water heater 106b in FIG. 1), where “m” and “p” are integers greater than one, such as 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, etc. Any one or combination of the one or more stack heaters 226, one or more air heaters 228, and one or more vaporizers 230a-230p may be connected to any one or combination of the one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n of the heater power supply module 200 in a manner similar as described above.

The internal steam electrolyzer module 220 may also include multiple temperature sensors 234, such as thermistors, thermocouples, etc. One or more of the temperature sensors 234 may be located in sufficient proximity to one or more of the one or more stack heaters 226, one or more air heaters 228, or one or more water heaters 230a-230p to sense temperature changes of fractions, whole, or multiples of one degree centigrade. In some embodiments, the one or more of the temperature sensors 234 may associated with one or more of the one or more stack heaters 226, one or more air heaters 228, or one or more water heaters 230a-230p. For example, one, two, three, or more of the of the temperature sensors 234 may associated with one of the one or more stack heaters 226, one or more air heaters 228, or one or more water heaters 230a-230p.

The internal steam electrolyzer module 220 may also include an electrolyzer module controller 232 connected to the one or more stack power supplies 222a-222m, one or more electrolyzer stacks 224a-224m, one or more stack heaters 226, one or more air heaters 228, one or more water heaters 230a-230p, and one or more of the temperature sensors 234. In some embodiments, the electrolyzer module controller 232 may be an individual controller or multiple individual or packaged controllers.

The electrolyzer module controller 232 may be configured to control operation of the one or more stack power supplies 222a-222m, one or more electrolyzer stacks 224a-224m, one or more stack heaters 226, one or more air heaters 228, and one or more water heaters 230a-230p. The heater power supply module controller 204 may be configured to control the operation of the one or more stack heaters 226, one or more air heaters 228, and one or more water heaters 230a-230p individually or in combination. Controlling the operation of the one or more stack power supplies 222a-222m, one or more electrolyzer stacks 224a-224m, one or more stack heaters 226, one or more air heaters 228, and one or more water heaters 230a-230p may include controlling an operation of the internal steam electrolyzer module 220.

The electrolyzer module controller 232 may also be configured to receive or interpret signals from the one or more temperature sensors 234 to indicate a state of the one or more temperature sensors 234 associated with one or more of the one or more stack heaters 226, one or more air heaters 228, or one or more water heaters 230a-230p. For example, the state of the one or more temperature sensors 234 may indicate a temperature sensor state of an increase in temperature of the one or more temperature sensors associated with the one or more stack heaters 226, one or more air heaters 228, and one or more water heaters 230a-230p that has been turned on.

FIG. 2C illustrates an internal steam electrolyzer system 250 (e.g., electrolyzer system 100 in FIG. 1) including one or more heater power supply modules 200 and one or more internal steam electrolyzer modules 220a-220q, where “q” is any integer greater than “1”, such as 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, etc. For clarity and legibility, components of the one or more heater power supply modules 200 and one or more internal steam electrolyzer modules 220a-220q are omitted from the drawing in FIG. 2C. It should be understood that such omissions do not limit the scope of the claims and descriptions and that the omitted components may be included in the one or more heater power supply modules 200 and one or more internal steam electrolyzer modules 220a-220q as described further herein, for example, with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B.

The one or more heater power supply modules 200 may each include a heater power supply module controller 204 and the one or more internal steam electrolyzer modules 220a-220q may each include an electrolyzer module controller 232a-232q. The heater power supply module controller 204 of each of the one or more heater power supply modules 200 may be connected to the electrolyzer module controller 232a-232q of any one or combination of the one or more internal steam electrolyzer modules 220a-220q. The connected heater power supply module controller 204 and one or more of the electrolyzer module controllers 232a-232q may be configured to transmit and received data or commands.

The heater power supply module controller 204 may be configured to transmit data or a command, to the one or more electrolyzer module controllers 232a-232q. The data or command prompts the one or more the electrolyzer module controllers 232a-232q to implement a test of connections between the one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n and the one or more stack heaters 226, one or more air heaters 228, and one or more water heaters 230a-230p. In some embodiments, the data or command transmitted by the heater power supply module controller 204 may instruct the one or more the electrolyzer module controllers 232a-232q to turn on or off the one or more stack heaters 226, one or more air heaters 228, and one or more water heaters 230a-230p as prescribed by the data or command. In some embodiments, the data or command transmitted by the heater power supply module controller 204 may instruct the one or more the electrolyzer module controllers 232a-232q to turn on or off the one or more stack heaters 226, one or more air heaters 228, and one or more water heaters 230a-230p in a preprogrammed manner.

The one or more the electrolyzer module controllers 232a-232q may be configured to transmit data or a command, to the heater power supply module controller 204, configured to indicate a temperature sensor state of the one or more temperature sensors 234 associated with the one or more stack heaters 226, one or more air heaters 228, and one or more water heaters 230a-230p. For example, the one or more the electrolyzer module controllers 232a-232q may transmit data or a command configured to indicate a temperature sensor state of an increase in temperature of the one or more temperature sensors 234 associated with the one or more stack heaters 226, one or more air heaters 228, and one or more water heaters 230a-230p that has been turned on.

The heater power supply module controller 204 may be configured to transmit data or a command, to the one or more the electrolyzer module controllers 232a-232q, configured to indicate an electrolyzer system load configuration of associations of the one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n and the one or more stack heaters 226, one or more air heaters 228, and one or more water heaters 230a-230p. The electrolyzer system load configuration may include test data representing a connection between the one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n and the one or more stack heaters 226, one or more air heaters 228, and one or more water heaters 230a-230p. In some embodiments, the electrolyzer system load configuration may include test data representing whether the one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n are connected in parallel. In some embodiments, the electrolyzer system load configuration may include test data representing whether the energy sensors are functional.

Together, FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate an arrangement of different loads 226, 228, 230a-230p and power supplies 202a-202n of an internal steam SOEC system 250. As shown in FIGS. 2A-2C, one or more stack power supplies 222a-222m are located in the same enclosure (e.g., cabinet) as an electrolyzer hotbox. The enclosure that includes the one or more stack power supplies 222a-222m and SOEC hotbox may be referred as the internal steam electrolyzer module 220, or generator module (GM) (i.e., hydrogen generator module). The power supplies 202a-202n that supply controlled power to the heaters 226, 228, 230a-230p are in located in a different module which may be referred as the heater power supply module 200, or power module (PM). The PM 200 may have multiple power supplies 202a-202n which may supply power to heaters 226, 228, 230a-230p in different GMs 220.

For the sake of simplicity and flexibility, the heater power supplies 202a-202n may have the same power level. A number of power supplies 202a-202n may be connected in parallel to achieve a required power for heater loads 226, 228, 230a-230p. Since GMs 220 and PMs 200 may be physically located in separate enclosures, cable connections between PM power supplies 202a-202n and heaters 226, 228, 230a-230p in multiple GMs 220 may be made at site during installation.

The power rating of stack heaters 226 and air heaters 228 in each zone may be less than a capacity of a single power supply 202a-202n, so one power supply 202a-202n may support a group of heaters 226, 228 in one zone. However, water heaters 230a-230p usually have a much higher consumption, especially if they comprise vaporizers. Therefore, multiple power supplies 202a-202n may be connected in parallel to support the water heater heaters 230a-230p.

FIG. 2D illustrates an external steam electrolyzer module 240 in which steam is supplied from an external source (e.g., a building, factory, etc.) that is not part of the SOEC system 100.

In this case, the SOEC system 100 does not include any vaporizers, but may include water heaters 106b which function as steam super-heaters, which superheat the steam inlet stream provided from the external steam source. The external steam electrolyzer module 240 includes one or more stack power supplies 222a-222m (e.g., stack power supply 102 in FIG. 1), one or more electrolyzer stacks 224a-224m (e.g., electrolyzer stack 108 in FIG. 1), one or more stack heaters 226 (e.g., stack heater 106c in FIG. 1), one or more air heaters 228 (e.g., air heater 106a in FIG. 1), and optionally one or more water heaters 230a-230r (e.g., water heater 106b in FIG. 1) which are not vaporizers, where “m” and “r” are integers greater than one, such as 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, etc., an electrolyzer module controller 232, and temperature sensors 234. Any one or combination of the one or more stack heaters 226, one or more air heaters 228, and one or more water heaters 230a-230r may be connected to any one or combination of the one or more heater power supplies 202a-202n of the heater power supply module 200 in a manner similar as described above. The components of FIG. 2D may be similarly described as with respect to the like numbered components of FIG. 2B. It should be understood that some differences between the descriptions of like numbered components of FIGS. 2B and 2D are possible due to the differences of inclusion or omission of the water heaters 230a-230r in FIG. 2D. For example, descriptions of the components of FIG. 2B relating to the one or more water heaters 230a-230p may be omitted for embodiment omitting the water heaters 230a-230r in FIG. 2D.

The example in FIG. 2E illustrates an external steam electrolyzer system 260 (e.g., electrolyzer system 100 in FIG. 1) including one or more heater power supply modules 200 and one or more external steam electrolyzer modules 240a-240s, where “s” is any integer greater than “1”, such as 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, etc. For clarity and legibility, components of the one or more heater power supply modules 200 and one or more external steam electrolyzer modules 240a-240s are omitted from the drawing in FIG. 2E. It should be understood that such omissions do not limit the scope of the claims and descriptions and that the omitted components may be included in the one or more heater power supply modules 200 and one or more external steam electrolyzer modules 240a-240s as described herein, for example, with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B. The components of FIG. 2E may be similarly described as with respect to the like numbered components of FIG. 2C while substituting external steam electrolyzer modules 240a-240s for internal steam electrolyzer modules 220a-220q. It should be understood that some differences between the descriptions of like numbered components of FIGS. 2C and 2E may be possible due to the differences of inclusion or omission of the water heaters 230a-230r in FIG. 2E. For example, descriptions of the components of FIG. 2C relating to the one or more water heaters 230a-230p may be omitted for embodiments omitting the water heaters 230a-230r in FIG. 2E.

Together, FIGS. 2A, 2D, and 2E illustrate an arrangement of heaters 226, 228, 230a-230r and power supplies 202a-202n of the external steam electrolyzer system 260 that excludes steam vaporizers. In some embodiments, there may be no water heaters 230a-230r in each external steam electrolyzer module 240, so the power supplies 202a-202n in PM 200 may be repurposed to support a greater number of external steam electrolyzer modules 240 than steam electrolyzer modules 220. In one embodiment, one PM 200 may support plural internal steam GMs 220 or external steam GMs 240. For example, one PM 200 may support three internal steam GMs 220 or four external steam GMs 240.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a controller suitable for implementing various embodiments. With reference to FIGS. 1-3, the controller 300 (e.g., heater power supply module controller 204 and/or electrolyzer module controller 232 in FIGS. 2A-2E) may include one or more processing systems 302, one or more memories 304, and one or more communication interfaces 306 connected via a communication bus 308.

The one or more processing systems 302 may refer to one or more processing devices, for example one or more processors or one or more processor cores. The one or more processing systems 302 may include any of a variety of processing devices, for example a number of processor cores. The one or more processing systems 302 may include a variety of different types of processors and processor cores, such as a general purpose processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a secure processing unit (SPU), an artificial intelligence processing unit (AIPU), a subsystem processor of specific components of a system (e.g., electrolyzer system 100, internal steam electrolyzer system 250, external steam electrolyzer system 260), such as the internal steam electrolyzer modules 220 or the external steam electrolyzer modules 240, an auxiliary processor, a single core processor, a multicore processor, a controller, and a microcontroller. The one or more processing systems 302 may further embody other hardware and hardware combinations, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), other programmable logic device, discrete gate logic, transistor logic, performance monitoring hardware, watchdog hardware, and time references. The one or more processing systems 302 may include integrated circuits that may be configured such that the components of the integrated circuits reside on a single piece of semiconductor material, such as silicon. The one or more processing systems 302 may each be configured for specific purposes that may be the same as or different from other processing systems 302 of the system. One or more of the one or more processing systems 302 of the same or different configurations may be grouped together. A group of one or more processing systems 302 may be referred to as a multi-processor system cluster.

The one or more memories 304 may be a volatile or non-volatile memory configured for storing data and processor system executable code for access by the one or more processing systems 302. The controller 300 may include one or more memories 304 configured for various purposes. The one or more memories 304 may include volatile memories such as random access memory (RAM) or main memory or cache memory. For example, the one or more memories 304 may include any of static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), etc. The one or more memories 304 may include non-volatile memories such as storage memory. For example, the one or more memories 304 may include hard disk memory, solid state memory, flash memory, etc. These one or more memories 304 may be configured to temporarily hold a limited amount of data received from one or more data sensors (e.g., energy sensor, temperature sensor 234 in FIGS. 2A-2D), data and/or processor system executable code instructions produced by the one or more processing systems 302 during operations, and/or data and/or processor system executable code instructions that are persistently stored and repeatedly accessed.

The communication interface 306 may enable components of the controller 300, such as the one or more processor systems 302 and/or the one or more memories 304, to communicate with other components of the system. The communication interface 306 may provide and manage physical and logical connections between the components of the controller 300 and the system. The communication interface 306 may also manage communication between the components of the controller 300 and the system, such as by directing and/or allowing communications between transmitter and receiver pairs of the components of the controller 300 and the system. The communications may include transmission of memory access commands, addresses, data, interrupt signals, state signals, etc. The components of the system may be any component of the system separate from the controller 300, such as a processor system, a memory, a subsystem, etc. In some embodiments, the communication interface 306 may implement one or more communication protocols, such as CAN, PCle, etc.

The communication bus 308 may be a communication fabric configured to communicatively connect the components of the controller 300. The communication bus 308 may transmit signals between the components of the controller 300. In some embodiments, the communication bus 308 may be configured to control signals between the components of the controller 300 by controlling timing and/or transmission paths of the signals.

Based on above discussed configurations, the PM power supplies (e.g., heater power supply 104a-104c, 202a-202n in FIGS. 1 and 2A) may be configured as per the number of GM modules and type of each GM (e.g., internal steam electrolyzer modules 220 and/or external steam electrolyzer modules 240 in FIGS. 2B-2E) in each system (e.g., electrolyzer system 100, internal steam electrolyzer system 250, and/or external steam electrolyzer system 260 in FIGS. 1 and 2B-2E). The connections between a PM (e.g., heater power supply module 200 in FIGS. 2A, 2C, and 2E) and GMs are separated to identify which power supply is connected to which heater (e.g., heater 106a-106c, 226, 228, 230 in FIGS. 1, 2B, 2D) in a given GM, to prevent misoperation, failures due to wrong connections, and costly reworks.

A power supply configuration, i.e. pairing power supply with its heater, may be done through manual process at site and by creating multiple SKUs. This increases the inventory and the number of variations to be built and maintained for manufacturing and service.

The embodiments of the present disclosure provide an automatic configuration, i.e., pairing, of power supply to load (e.g., heater 106a-106c, 226, 228, and/or 230 in FIGS. 1, 2B, 2D) using a software algorithm embedded in electronic controllers (e.g., heater power supply module controller 204, electrolyzer module controller 232, and/or controller 300 in FIGS. 2A-3) in the PM and GMs. The algorithm may identify which power supply in the PM is connected to which heater in GMs during start up, store that information in a non-volatile storage (e.g., memory 304 in FIG. 3) and use that information during operation.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment temperature control system. With reference to FIGS. 1-4, the temperature control system 400 may use variable power supply and temperature feedback. Electric energy 402 is provided to a power supply 404. The power supply 404 outputs power 406 to a heater 408 (e.g., heater 106a-106c, 226, 228 and/or 230 in FIGS. 1, 2B, 2D). A temperature at target location, such as the heater 408, may be measured using one or more temperature measurement devices (e.g., temperature sensors 234 in FIGS. 2B and 2D), such as thermocouples, thermistors, etc. The measured temperature signal 410 is provided from the heater 408 sensor 234 to a comparator 414, and may be compared in the comparator 414 with a target temperature signal 412 provided to the comparator 414. The comparator 414 outputs a signal representing a temperature difference 416 between target temperature signal 412 and measured temperature signal 410 to a control 418 (i.e., a controller). The control 418 outputs an adjust power supply output power signal 420 to a power supply 404. If the actual measured temperature signal 410 is less than the target temperature signal 412, then control system 400 may increase a power output 406 from a power supply 404 (e.g., heater power supply 140a-104c, 202a-202n in FIGS. 1 and 2A) to one or more heaters 408 (e.g., heater 106a-106c, 226, 228, 230 in FIGS. 1, 2B, 2D) and vice versa. In other words, the temperature measurement devices 234 located in the system 400 may measure the response of heaters 408 for temperature control purpose. Those temperature measurement devices 234 may be used to pair power supply 404 with loads. Similarly, each power supply 404 may have its own and independent output voltage measurement circuit (e.g., energy sensor in FIG. 2A).

As mentioned above, it may be possible to connect multiple power supplies 404 in parallel to support larger loads 408 like a water heater (e.g., 104b, 230 in FIGS. 1, 2B, and 2D). Therefore, a first step may be to find out the which power supplies 404 are connected in parallel.

FIGS. 5, 6A, 6B, 7, and 10 illustrate methods for identifying an electrolyzer system load configuration of associations of multiple heater power supplies (e.g., heater power supplies 140a-104c, 202a-202n, and/or 404 in FIGS. 1, 2A, and 4) with the one or more heaters (e.g., heaters 106a-106c, 226, 228, 230, and/or 408 in FIGS. 1, 2B, 2D, and 4) according to various embodiments. With reference to FIGS. 1-7 and 10, methods 500, 600a, 600b, 700, and 1000 may be implemented in a computing device (e.g., heater power supply module controller 204, controller 300, 418 in FIGS. 2A-4), in hardware (e.g., processor system 302 in FIG. 3), in software executing in a processor system (e.g., processor system 302 in FIG. 3), or in a combination of a software-configured processor and dedicated hardware, that includes other individual components, such as various memories/caches (e.g., memory 304 in FIG. 3). In order to encompass the alternative configurations enabled in various embodiments, the hardware implementing the methods 500, 600a, 600b, 700, and 1000 is referred to herein as a “controller device.”

FIG. 5 illustrates a method 500 for electrolyzer system load configuration according to various embodiments, including identifying an electrolyzer system load configuration of associations of multiple heater power supplies (e.g., heater power supply 104a-104c, 202a-202n, and/or 404 in FIGS. 1, 2A, and 4) with the one or more heaters (e.g., heater 106a-106c, 226, 228, and/or 230 in FIGS. 1, 2B, 2D). In block 502, the controller device may retrieve identifiers of multiple heater power supplies. Identifiers of the heater power supplies may be coded and configured to indicate to the controller device information about the heater power supplies, such as a heater power supply type (e.g., type of generator or energy storage device), a power supply module (e.g., power supply modules 200 in FIGS. 2A, 2C, 2E) in which the heater power supply is located, and a location and/or identifier of the heater power supply within the module. The identifiers of the heater power supplies may be retrieved from volatile and/or non-volatile memory (e.g., memory 304, in FIG. 3).

In some embodiments, in block 502, the controller device may prepare list of available power supplies in a PM (e.g., power supply modules 200 in FIGS. 2A, 2C, 2E) and arrange them in left most column as well as in top most row in a two-dimensional arrays 800a, 800b, such as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. The size of that array may be N×N where N=number of power supplies to be configured.

In block 504, the controller device may test functionality of one or more sensors (e.g., energy sensor in FIG. 2A) of plural heater power supplies. In other words, the controller device may determine if the one or more sensors are functional. Block 504 is described further below with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B.

In block 506, the controller device may determine whether at least some of the multiple heater power supplies are connected in parallel. Block 506 is described further below with reference to FIG. 7.

In block 508, the controller device may retrieve the identifiers of the one or more heaters and associated one or more temperature sensors (e.g., temperature sensor 234 in FIGS. 2B and 2D). The identifiers of the one or more heaters may be coded and configured to indicate to the controller device information about the one or more heaters, such as a heater type (e.g., stack heater, air heater, water heater), an electrolyzer module (e.g., internal steam electrolyzer modules 220 and/or external steam electrolyzer modules 240 in FIGS. 2B-2E) in which the heater is located, and a location and/or identifier of the heater within the module. Similarly, the identifiers of the associated one or more temperature sensors may be coded and configured to indicate to the controller device information about the temperature sensors, such as to which heater the temperature sensor is associated and an identifier of temperatures sensor among temperature sensors associated with the heater. The information indicating to which heater the temperature sensor is associated may be the identifier of the heater. The identifiers of the heaters and the temperature sensors may be retrieved from the volatile and/or non-volatile memory.

For example, the controller device may prepare the list of power supplies (e.g., heater power supply 104a-104c, 202a-202n, and/or 404 in FIGS. 1, 2A, and 4) in the PM and arrange in a first column of a two-dimensional matrix 1000 as shown in FIG. 10. Similarly, the controller device may prepare a list of heater and associated temperature feedback sensors (“TSx.y”) (thermocouples or resistance temperature detectors (“RTDs”)) in the first two rows as shown in FIG. 10. Each heater zone may have one or more thermal sensors as shown in FIG. 10 where “Heater 1” and “Heater 2” may have two temperature sensors, but “Heater 3” may have one temperature sensor.

In block 510, the controller device may test a connection between multiple heater power supplies and one or more heaters. Block 510 is described further below with reference to FIG. 9.

In block 512, the controller device may transmit electrolyzer system load configuration to one or more electrolyzer module controllers (e.g., electrolyzer module controller 232, controller 300 and/or 418 in FIGS. 2B-4). The electrolyzer system load configuration may include test data representing a connection between the multiple heater power supplies and the one or more stack heaters (e.g., stack heater 106c and/or 226 in FIGS. 1, 2B, 2D), one or more air heaters (e.g., air heater 106a and/or 228 in FIGS. 1, 2B, 2D), and one or more water heaters (e.g., water heaters 106b and/or 230 in FIGS. 1, 2B, 2D). In some embodiments, the electrolyzer system load configuration may include test data representing whether the multiple heater power supplies are connected in parallel. In some embodiments, the electrolyzer system load configuration may include test data representing whether the energy sensors are functional.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate the methods 600a, 600b for electrolyzer system load configuration according to various embodiments, including testing functionality of one or more sensors (e.g., energy sensor in FIG. 2A) of multiple heater power supplies (e.g., heater power supply 104a-104c, 202a-202n, and/or 404 in FIGS. 1, 2A, and 4). In block 602, the controller device may turn off the power output of the multiple heater power supplies. Turning off the power output of the multiple heater power supplies may be used to verify that all power supply sensors are at an off threshold, which may be a range of approximately zero volts or a value of zero volts. In some embodiments, the controller device may turn off all the heater power supplies outputs in an PM (e.g., power supply modules 200 in FIGS. 2A, 2C, 2E) and ensure all power supplies read back voltage of approximately 0V.

In determination block 604, the controller device may determine whether an energy sensor (e.g., energy sensor in FIG. 2A) of multiple heater power supplies exceeds the off threshold. The energy sensor may exceed the off threshold in either positive or negative magnitude. The controller device may receive and interpret signals from the energy sensor to identify the energy magnitude sensed at the energy sensor and compare the energy magnitude with the off threshold. Exceeding the off threshold may prompt the controller device to issue a sensor error. Completing testing for all of the energy sensors may indicate to the controller device that all sensors of multiple heater power supplies are tested.

In response to determining that the energy sensor of the multiple heater power supplies exceeds the off threshold (i.e., determination block 604= “Yes”), the controller device may pause the process until the sensor error is cleared in block 606. Once, the process resumes, the controller device may again determine whether the energy sensor of multiple heater power supplies exceeds the off threshold in determination block 604.

If any power supply reports a non-′close to zero′ value then the algorithm declares that sensor is bad and pauses the configuration until the sensor error is addressed. Once the system (e.g., system 100, 250, and/or 260, in FIGS. 1, 2C, and 2E) is error free from sensor issues then it proceeds to the next step.

In response to determining that the energy sensor of the multiple heater power supplies does not exceed the off threshold (i.e., determination block 604= “No”), the controller device may determine whether all the energy sensors of the multiple heater power supplies are tested in determination block 608. In some embodiments, the controller device may be informed of how many energy sensors are present or to be tested, may count the number of energy sensors tested, and compare the count with the number of energy sensors. In some embodiments, the controller device may be informed of the energy sensors that are present or to be tested and may keep track of which of the energy sensors are tested.

In response to the determining that not all the energy sensors of the multiple heater power supplies are tested (i.e., determination block 608= “No”), the controller device may again determine whether the energy sensor of multiple heater power supplies exceeds the off threshold in determination block 604.

In response to the determining that all the energy sensors of the multiple heater power supplies are tested (i.e., determination block 608= “Yes”), the controller device may turn on power output of the multiple heater power supplies in block 620. The controller device may control the power output of the multiple heater power supplies to remain low, such as a non-zero voltage outside of the off threshold. The controller device may control the power output of the multiple heater power supplies to be approximately a value of an on threshold, which may be the non-zero voltage value. Turning on the power output of the multiple heater power supplies may be used to verify all power supply sensors at low (non-zero) voltage.

In determination block 622, the controller device may determine whether the sensor of the multiple heater power supplies approximately equals the on threshold. The controller device may receive and interpret signals from the energy sensor to identify the energy magnitude sensed at the energy sensor and compare the energy magnitude with the on threshold. Not approximately equaling the on threshold may prompt the controller device to issue a sensor error.

In response to determining that the energy sensor of the multiple heater power supplies does not approximately equal the on threshold (i.e., determination block 622= “No”), the controller device may pause the process until the sensor error is cleared in block 628. Once the process resumes, the controller device may again turn on the power output of the multiple heater power supplies in block 620.

In response to determining that the energy sensor of the multiple heater power supplies approximately equals the on threshold (i.e., determination block 622= “Yes”), the controller device may determine whether the sensor of multiple heater power supplies has a correct polarity in determination block 624. The controller device may receive and interpret signals from the energy sensor to identify the energy polarity sensed at the energy sensor and compare the energy polarity with the energy polarity of the power output of the multiple heater power supplies. Not equaling the energy polarity of the power output of the multiple heater power supplies may prompt the controller device to issue a sensor error.

In response to determining that the energy sensor of the multiple heater power supplies does not have the correct polarity (i.e., determination block 624= “No”), the controller device may pause the process until the sensor error is cleared in block 628. Once the process resumes, the controller device may again turn on the power output of the multiple heater power supplies in block 620.

In response to determining that the energy sensor of the multiple heater power supplies does has the correct polarity (i.e., determination block 624= “Yes”), the controller device may turn off power output of the multiple heater power supplies in block 626.

The controller device may turn on a first power supply (PS1) while keeping all other power supplies in output off position. The controller device may set the PS1 to output a voltage at level V1. The controller device may ensure PS1 reads back approximately the same voltage V1 and polarity ‘+’. If polarity is reverse, then PS1 may have a sensor issue or power circuit issue which may require replacement. The auto configuration algorithm may pause until this issue is addressed.

When PS1 is cleared from errors, the algorithm may turn off PS1 and turn on a second power supply (PS2) and repeat the same procedure under. In this fashion, the algorithm may check all power supplies from PS1 and PSN by turning on one at a time and checking its own sensor feedback. Once all power supplies are cleared, then algorithm may turns off all power supplies and proceed to next step.′

In determination block 630, the controller device may determine whether all sensors of multiple heater power supplies are functional. In some embodiments, the controller device may be informed of how many energy sensors are present or to be tested, may count the number of energy sensors tested, and compare the count with the number of energy sensors. In some embodiments, the controller device may be informed of the energy sensors that are present or to be tested and may keep track of which of the energy sensors are tested. Completing testing for all of the energy sensors may indicate to the controller device that all sensors of multiple heater power supplies are functional. In some embodiments, the controller device may store an indication that all sensors of multiple heater power supplies are functional in volatile or non-volatile memory.

In response to determining that not all sensors of multiple heater power supplies are functional (i.e., determination block 630= “No”), the controller device may again turn on the power output of the multiple heater power supplies in block 620. In response to determining that all sensors of multiple heater power supplies are functional (i.e., determination block 630= “Yes”), the controller device may test whether multiple heater power supplies are connected in parallel in block 506 of method 500.

FIG. 7 is a process flow diagram of a method for electrolyzer system load configuration according to various embodiments, including testing whether at least some of the multiple heater power supplies (e.g., heater power supply 104a-104c, 202a-202n, and/or 404 in FIGS. 1, 2A, and 4) are connected in parallel. It is possible that two or more heater power supplies are connected in parallel to supply larger loads like a water heater (e.g., water heater 104b and/or 230 in FIGS. 1, 2B, 2D). This part of the algorithm may identify which power supplies are connected in parallel.

In block 702, the controller device may turn off power output of multiple heater power supplies. In block 704, the controller device may turn on power output of one of the multiple heater power supplies. For example, the controller device may turn on PS1 and keep all other power supplies output off. The controller device may set PS1 output voltage to V1.

In determination block 706, the controller device may determine whether a sensor (e.g., energy sensor in FIG. 2A) of one or more of other heater power supplies approximately equals the power output. In other words, the controller device may check the energy sensors of any of the heater power supplies for which the power output remains turned off. The controller device may receive and interpret signals from the energy sensor to identify the energy magnitude sensed at the energy sensor and compare the energy magnitude with the power output for the multiple heater power supplies for which the power output is turned on. In some embodiments, the controller device may check voltage read backs for PS1 to PSN. The sensor from the power supply which is making voltage (PS1 in this case) may report voltage V1.

If any other power supply that is not making voltage reads the voltage close to V1 when its own output is off, then that power supply and the power supply which is making voltage V1 may be connected in parallel at site. For example, in an arrangement PS1 and PS5 may be connected in parallel downstream to supply a high-power load but all other power supplies may be supplying loads directly. In this arrangement, when PS1 makes voltage V1 by turning on its switch, voltage sensors (VS) in both PS1 and PS5 may read voltage V1 even though PS5 output was off. Similarly, voltage sensors (VS) in all other power supplies may read zero volts as the respective outputs are kept off and the respective outputs are not connected to V1. It is possible that there could be more than two power supplies that read voltage close to V1 which may mean that all of them are connected in parallel downstream.

In response to determining that the sensor of one or more of other heater power supplies approximately equals the power output (i.e., determination block 706= “Yes”), the controller device may identify the sensor of one or more of other heater power supplies as potentially connected in parallel in block 708. In some embodiments, the controller device may be informed of which energy sensors are present and being tested and may track which energy sensors have readings that approximately equal the power output of which multiple heater power supplies. For example, the controller device may track which energy sensors have readings that approximately equal the power output of the heater power supplies in a format such as the two-dimensional array 800a in FIG. 8A.

In determination block 710, the controller device may determine whether the sensor of one or more of other heater power supplies equals the polarity of the power output. In other words, the controller device may check the energy sensors of any of the heater power supplies for which the power output remains turned off. The controller device may receive and interpret signals from the energy sensor to identify the energy polarity sensed at the energy sensor and compare the energy polarity with the power output for the one or more heater power supplies for which the power output is turned on. Not equaling the energy polarity of the power output of the one or more heater power supplies may prompt the controller device to issue a heater power supply error.

In response to determining that the sensor of one or more of other heater power supplies does not equal the polarity of the power output (i.e., determination block 710= “No”), the controller device may pause the process until the heater power supply error is cleared in block 712. Once the process resumes, the controller device may again turn off power output of one or more heater power supplies in block 702.

For example, if the power supply that is making voltage reads positive polarity, but the other power supply is reading negative means it is may be because of a field wiring issue. The algorithm may declare a wiring failure and stop the auto configuration until the issue is corrected. In some embodiments, the algorithm may restart only when it is manually initiated. In some embodiments, it may be important to keep test voltages V1-VN at lower level (˜10% of its rated voltage) to avoid damage due to field wrong wiring.

In response to determining that the sensor of one or more of other heater power supplies equals the polarity of the power output (i.e., determination block 710= “yes”), the controller may determine whether the one or more heater power supplies are identified as potentially connected in parallel two or more times in determination block 714. One or more heater power supplies connected in parallel should have the same energy readings at each of the one or more heater power supplies connected in parallel having the power output turned off as a heater power supplies connected in parallel having the power output turned on. For all permutations of the determination in determination block 706 of the one or more heater power supplies connected in parallel, the result should be matching energy readings at each of the heater power supplies connected in parallel. Therefore, the one or more heater power supplies connected in parallel should be identified as potentially connected in parallel in block 708 for each determination in determination block 706 relevant to the one or more heater power supplies connected in parallel. Not being identified as potentially connected in parallel two or more times may prompt the controller device to issue a heater power supply error.

For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B, a paralleling connection may be verified more than once. For example, when PS1 output is on and all other power supplies outputs are off, the PS5 power supply reads V1 so it may be determined that PS1 and PS5 are connected in parallel. Similarly, when PS5 output is on and all other power supply outputs are off, PS1 should read V5 voltage. If power supplies fail this verification step, then algorithm may be paused until effected power supplies are replaced.

In response to determining that the one or more heater power supplies are not identified as potentially connected in parallel two or more times (i.e., determination block 714= “No”), the controller device may pause the process until the heater power supply error is cleared in block 712. Once the process resumes, the controller device may again turn off power output of one or more heater power supplies in block 702.

In response to determining that the one or more heater power supplies are identified as potentially connected in parallel two or more times (i.e., determination block 714= “Yes”), the controller device may identify the one or more heater power supplies as connected in parallel in block 716. In some embodiments, the controller device may track which of the one or more heater power supplies are identified as connected in parallel. For example, the controller device may store an association of the one or more identifiers of the heater power supplies identified as connected in parallel in volatile or non-volatile memory.

In determination block 718, the controller device may determine whether all heater power supplies are tested for parallel connection. In some embodiments, the controller device may be informed of how many heater power supplies or associated energy sensors are present or to be tested, may count the number of heater power supplies or associated energy sensors tested, and compare the count with the number of heater power supplies or associated energy sensors. In some embodiments, the controller device may be informed of the heater power supplies or associated energy sensors that are present or to be tested and may keep track of which of the heater power supplies or associated energy sensors are tested (for example, when the two-dimensional arrays 800a, 800b in FIGS. 8A and 8B are filled).

Similarly, in response to determining that the sensor of one or more of other heater power supplies does not approximately equal the power output (i.e., determination block 706=“No”), the controller device may determine whether all heater power supplies are tested for parallel connection in determination block 718.

In response to determining that not all heater power supplies are tested for parallel connection (i.e., determination block 718= “No”), the controller device may again turn off power output of one or more heater power supplies in block 702. For example, the controller device may turn off the PS1 and turn on next power supply i.e. PS2 and repeat above step by checking sensors from PS1 to PSN and recording the results in the matrix 800a, 800b in FIGS. 8A and 8B. For additional clarity, voltage of each power supply may be set slightly different. It may be recommended to have V1<V2<V3 . . . <VN pattern to avoid capacitor hold up confusion.

In response to determining that all heater power supplies are tested for parallel connection (i.e., determination block 718= “Yes”), the controller device may retrieve the identifiers of the one or more heaters and associated one or more temperature sensors in block 508 of method 500.

FIG. 9 is a process flow diagram of a method for electrolyzer system load configuration according to various embodiments, including testing a connection between one or more heater power supplies (e.g., heater power supply 104a-104c, 202a-202n, and/or 404 in FIGS. 1, 2A, and 4) and one or more heaters (e.g., heater 106a-106c, 226, 228, 230, and/or 408 in FIGS. 1, 2B, 2D, 4). In block 902, the controller device may turn off one or more heaters or one or more heater power supplies. In block 904, the controller device may wait until a temperature is approximately a base temperature (e.g., room temperature). In some embodiments, the controller device may make sure all heaters are turned off and ensure temperature in that zone is close to room temperature. In some embodiments the controller device may receive and interpret signals from one or more temperature sensors (e.g., temperature sensor 234 in FIGS. 2B and 2D) configured to indicate a state of the one or more temperature sensors, such as a temperature, to determine whether the temperature is a base temperature.

In block 906, the controller device may turn on one or more heaters or one or more heater power supplies. In determination block 908, the controller device may determine whether a number of temperature sensors associated with one or more heaters sense a temperature rise. The controller device may track the associations of the temperature sensors associated with one or more heaters, such as in the example table 1000 in FIG. 10. The controller device may further receive and interpret signals from one or more temperature sensors configured to indicate state of the one or more temperature sensors. In some embodiments, the state of the temperature sensor may be a temperature, and may compare the temperature to the base temperature to determine if the temperature has risen. In some embodiments, the state of the temperature sensor may be a temperature rise in temperature. The controller device may track which temperature sensors indicate a rise in temperature in association with one or more heaters, such as shown in table 1000 in FIG. 10, in which case an “X” may indicate a temperature rise reported by the sensor and a blank may indicate no temperature rise reported by the sensor. In some embodiments, a when all of the temperature sensors associated with the one or more heaters fail to indicate or sense a temperature rise, the controller device may issue a temperature sensor error. In optional block 910, the controller device may wait until the sensor error is cleared.

For example, the controller device may turn on a first power supply PS1 and check which heater sensors record temperature rise. If more than one sensor is associated with a heater zone, then all should record the temperature rise response. In the example illustrated in FIG. 10, “TS1.1” and “TS1.2” may be sensing a temperature rise when PS1 is on but none of the other temperature sensors reporting any temperature rise may mean PS1 is connected to “Heater 1”, but not connected to any other loads.

Further, if one of two temperature sensors reports a temperature rise, then the algorithm may declare a temperature sensor failure. Depending on the criticality of the temperature sensors, the algorithm may pause and wait for the sensor to be fixed or proceed to next step. This decision may be programmed in each algorithm. In the example illustrated in FIG. 10, “TS2.1” may be sensing temperature rise when PS4 is on but none of other loads may be reporting any temperature rise including “TS2.2.” That may mean PS2 is connected to “Heater 2” but not to any other loads, and also that temperature sensor “TS2.2” may be broken.

In determination block 912, the controller device may determine whether all heater power supplies and/or heaters were tested for connection twice. In some embodiments, the controller device may be informed of how many heaters, heater power supplies, and/or temperature sensors are present or to be tested, may count the number of heaters, heater power supplies, and/or temperature sensors tested, and compare the count with the number of heaters, heater power supplies, and/or temperature sensors. In some embodiments, the controller device may be informed of the heaters, heater power supplies, and/or temperature sensors that are present or to be tested and may keep track of which of the heaters, heater power supplies, and/or temperature sensors are tested. In response to determining that not all heater power supplies and/or heaters were tested for connection twice (i.e., determination block 912= “No”), the controller device may again turn off one or more heaters or one or more heater power supplies in block 902.

It is possible that there may be an excess number of power supplies compared to heater loads or vice versa. The algorithm may compare the number of heaters and power supplies to the expected count based on design and try to attempt a second round. In this second round, a power supply may be turned on for longer time to ensure temperature rise is accurately sensed.

In response to determining that all heater power supplies and/or heaters were tested for connection twice (i.e., determination block 912= “Yes”), the controller device may transmit electrolyzer system load configuration to one or more electrolyzer module controllers (e.g., electrolyzer module controller 232, controller 300 and/or 418 in FIGS. 2B-4) in block 512 of method 500.

Encoding/decoding may be used to easily identify module, heater type, location etc. The method may also check all power supplies (e.g., heater power supply 104a-104c, 202a-202n, 404 in FIGS. 1, 2A, and 4) and associated sensors (e.g., energy sensors in FIG. 2A), as well as identify all power supplies connected in parallel and pair the power supply and its connected loads (e.g., heater 106a-106c, 226, 228, 230, 408 in FIGS. 1, 2B, 2D, 4). The embodiments and algorithms may be implemented in a centralized controller (e.g., heater power supply module controller 204, controller 300, 418 in FIGS. 2A-4), like a controller in PM (e.g., heater power supply module 200 in FIGS. 2A, 2C, and 2E) and then the results data may be distributed to all controllers (e.g., electrolyzer module controller 232, controller 300, 418 in FIGS. 2B-4) in GMs (e.g., internal steam electrolyzer modules 220, external steam electrolyzer modules 240 in FIGS. 2B-2E). These values may then be stored in non-transitory non-volatile memory (e.g., memory 304 in FIG. 3) until the auto-configuration algorithm is initiated again. This auto configuration technique offers quick, error free, flexible, and completely automated solution compared to current fixed manual wiring and configuration.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the SOEC load configuration method of the embodiments of the present disclosure without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Fuel cell and electrolyzer systems of the embodiments of the present disclosure are designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and have a positive impact on the climate.

The preceding description of the disclosed aspects is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

The foregoing method descriptions and diagrams are provided merely as illustrative examples and are not intended to require or imply that the steps of the various embodiments must be performed in the order presented. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art the order of steps in the foregoing embodiments may be performed in any order. Further, words such as “thereafter,” “then,” “next,” etc. are not intended to limit the order of the steps; these words are simply used to guide the reader through the description of the methods.

One or more diagrams have been used to describe exemplary embodiments. The use of diagrams is not meant to be limiting with respect to the order of operations performed. The foregoing description of exemplary embodiments has been presented for purposes of illustration and of description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting with respect to the precise form disclosed, and modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the disclosed embodiments. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents.

Control elements, including the control device as well as controllers 204, 232, 300, and/or 418 described herein, may be implemented using computing devices (such as computer) that include programmable processors, memory and other components that have been programmed with instructions to perform specific functions or may be implemented in processors designed to perform the specified functions. A processor may be any programmable microprocessor, microcomputer or multiple processor chip or chips that can be configured by software instructions (applications) to perform a variety of functions, including the functions of the various embodiments described herein. In some computing devices, multiple processors may be provided. Typically, software applications may be stored in the internal memory before they are accessed and loaded into the processor. In some computing devices, the processor may include internal memory sufficient to store the application software instructions.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

The hardware used to implement the various illustrative logics, logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a control device that may be or include a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but, in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. Alternatively, some blocks or methods may be performed by circuitry that is specific to a given function.

Claims

1. A method of electrolyzer system load configuration, comprising: determining that at least one sensor of multiple heater power supplies is functional;determining whether multiple heater power supplies are connected in parallel;testing a connection between the plural heater power supplies and one or more heaters; andtransmitting an electrolyzer system load configuration to one or more electrolyzer module controllers.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining that the at least one sensor of the multiple heater power supplies is functional comprises: determining that a first sensor of a first heater power supply that is powered off senses an energy level not exceeding an off threshold; andturning on the first heater power supply in response to the first sensor of the first heater power supply that is powered off sensing an energy level not exceeding the off threshold.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: determining that less than all sensors of the multiple heater power supplies are functional; andin response to determining that less than all the sensors of the multiple heater power supplies are functional: turning off the first heater power supply;determining that a second sensor of a second heater power supply that is powered off senses an energy level not exceeding the off threshold; andturning on the second heater power supply in response to the second sensor of the second heater power supply that is powered off sensing an energy level not exceeding the off threshold.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining that the at least one sensor of the multiple heater power supplies is functional comprises: determining that a first sensor of a first heater power supply that is powered on senses an energy level approximately equal to an on threshold;determining that the first sensor of the first heater power supply that is powered on senses an energy polarity same as an energy polarity of an output of the first heater power supply; andturning off the first heater power supply in response to determining that the first sensor of the first heater power supply that is powered on senses an energy level approximately equal to the on threshold and to determining that the first sensor of the first heater power supply that is powered on senses an energy polarity same as the energy polarity of the output of the first heater power supply.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: determining that less than all sensors of the multiple heater power supplies are functional; andin response to determining that less than all the sensors of the multiple heater power supplies are functional: turning on a second heater power supply;determining that a second sensor of the second heater power supply that is powered on senses an energy level approximately equal to the on threshold;determining that the second sensor of the second heater power supply that is powered on senses an energy polarity same as an energy polarity of an output of the second heater power supply; andturning off the second heater power supply in response to determining that the second sensor of the second heater power supply that is powered on senses an energy level approximately equal to the on threshold and to determining that the second sensor of the second heater power supply that is powered on senses an energy polarity same as the energy polarity of the output of the second heater power supply.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether at least some of the multiple heater power supplies are connected in parallel comprises: determining that a first sensor of a first heater power supply that is powered off senses an energy level approximately equal to an energy of an output of a second heater power supply that is powered on; anddetermining that the first sensor of the first heater power supply that is powered off senses an energy polarity same as an energy polarity of the output of the second heater power supply that is powered on.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: determining that less than all sensors of the multiple heater power supplies are tested for parallel connection; andin response to determining that less than all the sensors of the multiple heater power supplies are tested for parallel connection: turning off the second heater power supply;turning on the first heater power supply;determining that a second sensor of the second heater power supply that is powered off senses an energy level approximately equal to an energy of an output of the first heater power supply that is powered on; anddetermining that the second sensor of the second heater power supply that is powered off senses an energy polarity same as an energy polarity of the output of the first heater power supply that is powered on.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of testing the connection between the multiple heater power supplies and the one or more heaters comprises: turning on a first heater power supply; anddetermining that all temperature sensors associated with a first heater sense a temperature rise.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: determining that less than all the multiple heater power supplies are tested for connection to the one or more heaters; andin response to determining that less than all the multiple heater power supplies are tested for connection to the one or more heaters: turning off the first heater power supply;waiting until sensors of the one or more heaters sense approximately a base temperature;turning on a second heater power supply in response to the sensors of the one or more heaters sensing approximately a base temperature; anddetermining that all temperature sensors associated with the second heater sense a temperature rise.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the electrolyzer system load configuration comprises data of the steps determining of whether the multiple heater power supplies are connected in parallel and the step of testing of the connection between the multiple heater power supplies and the one or more heaters.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the electrolyzer system comprises a solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOECs) system comprising a plurality of electrolyzer modules containing the electrolyzer module controllers.

12. An electrolyzer system, comprising: a heater power supply module comprising multiple heater power supplies and a heater power supply module controller connected to the multiple heater power supplies; andone or more electrolyzer modules, each comprising: one or more electrolyzer stacks;one or more heaters connected to the multiple heater power supplies, the one or more heaters comprising at least one of an air heater or a stack heater; andan electrolyzer module controller connected to the one or more heaters and connected to the heater power supply module controller; andwherein the heater power supply module controller is configured with controller-executable instructions configured to cause the heater power supply module controller to perform operations comprising: identifying an electrolyzer system load configuration of associations of the multiple heater power supplies with the one or more heaters; andtransmitting the electrolyzer system load configuration of the associations of the multiple heater power supplies with the one or more heaters to the electrolyzer module controller.

13. The electrolyzer system of claim 12, wherein the heater power supply module controller is further configured with controller-executable instructions configured to cause the heater power supply module controller to perform operations such that the step of identifying the electrolyzer system load configuration of the associations of the multiple heater power supplies with the one or more heaters further comprises determining that a sensor of the multiple heater power supplies is functional.

14. The electrolyzer system of claim 12, wherein the heater power supply module controller is further configured with controller-executable instructions configured to cause the heater power supply module controller to perform operations such that the step of identifying the electrolyzer system load configuration of the associations of the multiple heater power supplies with the one or more heaters further comprises: determining that a first sensor of a first heater power supply that is powered off senses an energy level not exceeding an off threshold; andturning on the first heater power supply in response to the first sensor of the first heater power supply that is powered off sensing an energy level not exceeding the off threshold.

15. The electrolyzer system of claim 14, wherein the heater power supply module controller is further configured with controller-executable instructions configured to cause the heater power supply module controller to perform operations such that the step of identifying the electrolyzer system load configuration of the associations of the multiple heater power supplies with the one or more heaters further comprises: determining that less than all sensors of the multiple heater power supplies are functional; andin response to determining that less than all the sensors of the multiple heater power supplies are functional: turning off the first heater power supply;determining that a second sensor of a second heater power supply that is powered off senses an energy level not exceeding the off threshold; andturn on the second heater power supply in response to the second sensor of the second heater power supply that is powered off sensing an energy level not exceeding the off threshold.

16. The electrolyzer system of claim 12, wherein the heater power supply module controller is further configured with controller-executable instructions configured to cause the heater power supply module controller to perform operations such that the step of identifying the electrolyzer system load configuration of the associations of the multiple heater power supplies with the one or more heaters further comprises: determining that a first sensor of a first heater power supply that is powered on senses an energy level approximately equal to an on threshold;determining that the first sensor of the first heater power supply that is powered on senses an energy polarity same as an energy polarity of an output of the first heater power supply; andturning off the first heater power supply in response to determining that the first sensor of the first heater power supply that is powered on senses an energy level approximately equal to the on threshold and to determining that the first sensor of the first heater power supply that is powered on senses an energy polarity same as the energy polarity of the output of the first heater power supply.

17. The electrolyzer system of claim 16, wherein the heater power supply module controller is further configured with controller-executable instructions configured to cause the heater power supply module controller to perform operations such that the step of identifying the electrolyzer system load configuration of the associations of the multiple heater power supplies with the one or more heaters further comprises: determining that less than all sensors of the multiple heater power supplies are functional; andin response to determining that less than all the sensors of the multiple heater power supplies are functional: turning on a second heater power supply;determining that a second sensor of the second heater power supply that is powered on senses an energy level approximately equal to the on threshold;determining that the second sensor of the second heater power supply that is powered on senses an energy polarity same as an energy polarity of an output of the second heater power supply; andturning off the second heater power supply in response to determining that the second sensor of the second heater power supply that is powered on senses an energy level approximately equal to the on threshold and to determining that the second sensor of the second heater power supply that is powered on senses an energy polarity same as the energy polarity of the output of the second heater power supply.

18. The electrolyzer system of claim 12, wherein: the one or more electrolyzer stacks comprise solid oxide electrolyzer cell stacks; andthe heater power supply module controller is further configured with controller-executable instructions configured to cause the heater power supply module controller to perform operations such that the step of identifying the electrolyzer system load configuration of the associations of the multiple heater power supplies with the one or more heaters further comprises determining whether at least some of the multiple heater power supplies are connected in parallel.

19. The electrolyzer system of claim 12, wherein the heater power supply module controller is further configured with controller-executable instructions configured to cause the heater power supply module controller to perform operations such that the step of identifying the electrolyzer system load configuration of the associations of the multiple heater power supplies with the one or more heaters further comprises: determining that a first sensor of a first heater power supply that is powered off senses an energy level approximately equal to an energy of an output of a second heater power supply that is powered on; anddetermining that the first sensor of the first heater power supply that is powered off senses an energy polarity same as an energy polarity of the output of the second heater power supply that is powered on.

20. The electrolyzer system of claim 19, wherein the heater power supply module controller is further configured with controller-executable instructions configured to cause the heater power supply module controller to perform operations such that the step of identifying the electrolyzer system load configuration of the associations of the multiple heater power supplies with the one or more heaters further comprises: determining that less than all sensors of the multiple heater power supplies are tested for parallel connection; andin response to determining that less than all the sensors of the multiple heater power supplies are tested for parallel connection: turning off the second heater power supply;turning on the first heater power supply;determining that a second sensor of the second heater power supply that is powered off senses an energy level approximately equal to an energy of an output of the first heater power supply that is powered on; anddetermining that the second sensor of the second heater power supply that is powered off senses an energy polarity same as an energy polarity of the output of the first heater power supply that is powered on.

21. The electrolyzer system of claim 12, wherein the heater power supply module controller is further configured with controller-executable instructions configured to cause the heater power supply module controller to perform operations such that the step of identifying the electrolyzer system load configuration of the associations of the multiple heater power supplies with the one or more heaters further comprises testing a connection between the multiple heater power supplies and one or more heaters.

22. The electrolyzer system of claim 12, wherein the heater power supply module controller is further configured with controller-executable instructions configured to cause the heater power supply module controller to perform operations such that the step of identifying the electrolyzer system load configuration of the associations of the multiple heater power supplies with the one or more heaters further comprises: turning on a first heater power supply; anddetermining that all temperature sensors associated with a first heater sense a temperature rise.

23. The electrolyzer system of claim 22, wherein the heater power supply module controller is further configured with controller-executable instructions configured to cause the heater power supply module controller to perform operations such that the step of identifying the electrolyzer system load configuration of the associations of the multiple heater power supplies with the one or more heaters further comprises: determining that less than all the multiple heater power supplies are tested for connection to the one or more heaters; andin response to determining that less than all the multiple heater power supplies are tested for connection to the one or more heaters: turning off the first heater power supply;waiting until sensors of the one or more heaters sense approximately a base temperature;turning on a second heater power supply in response to the sensors of the one or more heaters sensing approximately a base temperature; anddetermining that all temperature sensors associated with the second heater sense a temperature rise.