Modular Energy Systems in Vehicular Applications

Nowadays, efforts for substitution of fossil fuel vehicles have fixed the attention of both individual and governmental levels on seeking new sustainable energy resources. In this regard, several power sources, such as fuel cells (FCs), batteries, and gensets, have come under attention to be used in vehicles with low or zero emissions. Generally, every energy source comes with a set of challenges, which are mainly associated with the efficiency, availability, durability, and cost. This paper is going to touch on the principle of employing a modular energy system (MES), and how this principle is helping the above-mentioned sources to deal with their limitations. MESs refer to independent power sources, which can work together. The aim of a MES is to distribute the power among the components and/or to split the energy storage into several standardized modules, which leads to several economical and technical benefits. Various examples of MESs in real applications are explored, and their advantages are discussed in this manuscript. Moreover, a special attention has been paid to the prospects of employing modular FC systems coupled with a battery pack since such a system has the advantages of a MES while it has no serious environmental impacts.