Degradation-Aware Preliminary Sizing and Control Framework for Regional Aircraft Hybrid Fuel Cell-Battery Systems

The aviation sector is under increasing pressure to cut emissions, prompting strong interest in alternative propulsion systems. This study examines the potential of hybrid-electric aircraft relying on electrochemical energy storage and conversion units (EC-ESC), consisting of proton exchange membrane fuel cell systems coupled with batteries. A design space-exploration framework is proposed to size and control these systems for regional aircraft, treating fuel cell system nominal power and battery C-rate as key design variables, while also accounting for in-flight degradation. A flexible degradation-aware control strategy manages power sharing within the co-design strategy, which seeks configuration minimizing the total EC-ESC equivalent mass. The entire procedure is designed versatile enough to be applicable for the model-based design and energy management of EC-ESC units destined for several end uses, e.g., short/medium-haul, and long-haul aircraft or automotive.