Simulation of a Hybrid Energy System for Stratospheric Airships

Effective energy management systems are critical for long endurance stratospheric airships. This article presents a hybrid energy system consisting of one renewable (photovoltaic) and two energy storage (lithium battery/regenerative fuel cell) systems. After examining different models of energy harvesting, balancing, and storage, we present the details of a rule-based energy management strategy. We further validate it by presenting the various power curves and state of charge (SOC) measurements. The results indicate that the strategy is effective for energy management planning.