Fuel cell based power systems to supply power to Telecom Stations

Hydrogen-Photovoltaic (H2-PV) hybrid systems may represent a valid solution to foster the use of renewable sources to power off-grid Radio Base Stations (RBSs) for telecom applications. The use of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells (FCs) would in fact allow for having higher efficiency and lower consumption of primary fossil sources. Within that context, a demonstration project has been funded in the FCH-JU European project named “FCpoweredRBS: Demonstration Project for Power Supply to Telecom Stations through FC technology”, which was kicked-off in January 2012. Activities of that project are described in this paper, including system design, the definition of a 72 h benchmark and measurements of system performances under specifically developed benchmark cycles.