Activities carried out by Control Sistem at the Isotta Fraschini Motori facility in Bari are progressing on schedule, within the project for the construction of the new 3 MW Fuel Cell test room. In these weeks an important milestone of the commissioning phase has been achieved: the start-up of the DC Bus, the direct-current infrastructure around which the entire energy architecture of the facility is built, successfully managing a power exchange between the units of up to 700 kW (once the plant is fully operational, the maximum manageable power will exceed 3 MW).
The DC Bus is the electrical backbone connecting the fuel cell systems under test, the power converters and the loads, making it possible to manage energy flows in a controlled way throughout the test campaigns. It is the element that allows the operating conditions of the systems destined for onboard use to be reproduced on the test bed, with the flexibility required to cover the full operating range of the facility.
The result stems from the joint work of the Control Sistem and Nidec teams, partners for the power conversion systems. Activities covered the preliminary checks on cabinets and wiring, insulation and continuity tests, the configuration and parameterization of the converters, the pre-charge sequences and the first energization of the bus, through to the verification of the correct operation of protections and safety interlocks. In parallel, the auxiliary distribution boards and the uninterruptible power supply systems serving the plant were energized and tested.
At the same time, integration activities with the automation and supervision system continued, bringing the status, measurement and command signals of the converters into the control and safety logics of the test room — an essential step for the power infrastructure and the control system to operate as one coherent whole.
This is a significant moment for the project, as the power infrastructure moves from the installation phase to controlled operation, paving the way for integrated testing with the fuel cell systems and for the validation of the energy management logics.
Over the coming weeks, activities will continue with the extension of commissioning to the loads and auxiliary systems, with functional system tests and with the validation of the safety logics for the use of hydrogen. Control Sistem continues to support the client throughout all engineering, integration and commissioning phases, contributing to the creation of an advanced test infrastructure for the qualification of zero-emission energy systems.
