Virtual power control of electrolyzer system for hydrogen production under unbalanced grid voltage conditions

• This paper, for the first time, investigates the impact of unbalanced grid conditions on hydrogen production in electrolyzers and proposes corresponding optimization strategies. The main highlights are as follows: • A virtual power control framework is proposed for electrolyzers under unbalanced grid conditions. • The control achieves sinusoidal and balanced grid-side currents with THD below 5%. • It reduces output current fluctuations and stabilizes hydrogen production compared to conventional methods. Grid voltage interface converters play a critical role in supplying power to electrolyzers for hydrogen production. However, the impact of unbalanced grid voltages on the performance of electrolyzers is investigated for the first time in this paper. To ensure high-quality input currents and stable hydrogen production under unbalanced grid voltage conditions, a virtual power control architecture is proposed. The proposed strategy is thoroughly analyzed through theoretical modelling and experimental testes, focusing on its operating principles and dynamic characteristics, and is compared against conventional control methods. Experimental results confirm that the proposed method achieves more balanced and sinusoidal input currents. Compared to traditional strategies—which often result in distorted input currents and unstable output performance—the proposed approach reduces total harmonic distortion on the input side below 5%, thereby improving current quality and enabling more stable hydrogen production.