Nested optimal energy scheduling and power allocation for zero-emission high-speed passenger vessels

Abstract

The transition towards sustainable transportation has sparked growing interest in developing zero-emission high-speed passenger vessels (HSPVs), which necessitates sophisticated energy management systems (EMS). This study presents a novel nested optimization method proposed for zero-emission power systems onboard HSPVs. The method computes the optimal scheduling of energy and consistent allocation of power for a given load profile. It is benchmarked against a global optimal solution obtained using a linear programming (LP) method, referred to as direct power allocation, to evaluate its optimality and computational efficiency. Two potential zero-emission hybrid power systems—a non-plugin hybrid system and a plugin hybrid system, both powered by a fuel cell (FC) and a battery energy storage system (BESS)—are assessed using this method to demonstrate its applicability and to evaluate their operational performance. Additionally, the energy consumption of a BESS-only system and a FC-only system, is calculated for comparison. The results highlight the potential of the nested optimization method for achieving a near-optimal utilization of the power plant in a zero-emission HSPV with high computational efficiency.