Linda Barelli

Beyond solar and wind energy, wave energy is gaining great interest due to its very high theoretical potential, although its stochastic nature causes intermittent and fluctuating power production. Energy storage system (ESS) integration to wave energy converter (WEC) plants represents a promising solution to mitigate this issue. To overcome the technological limits of the single storage devices, the hybridization of complementary ESSs represents an effective solution, extending the operating range over different timeframes. This paper analyzes the benefits of Li-ion battery–supercapacitor hybrid ESS integration into a grid-connected WEC, aiming at smoothing the produced power oscillations. The hybridization concept involves coupling a power-intensive technology, such as a supercapacitor devoted to managing fluctuations at higher frequency, with a battery technology exploited to manage power variations over longer timeframes to mitigate degradation issues. In this study, a multi-objective data-driven power management strategy, based on the simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation (SPSA) algorithm, is implemented to minimize power fluctuations in terms of power ramp (representing the power variation between two consecutive values with a 1 s time step), both at the Point of Common Coupling (PCC) and the Li-ion battery terminals, thanks to the supercapacitor peak-shaving function. The SPSA management strategy, together with a suitable sizing procedure, allows a reduction of more than 70% in the power oscillations at the PCC with respect to those at the WEC terminals, while decreasing battery stress by more than 25% if compared to a non-hybrid ESS consisting of a Li-ion battery. This shows how supercapacitor features can extend battery lifespan when integrated in a hybrid ESS.