Patent Document ID: 8795481
Application ID: 13342578
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A controller configured to selectively activate an electrolyzer configured to produce hydrogen gas from source material using electricity, the controller comprising: a pre-processing module configured to determine a prediction length by dividing a predefined prediction horizon by a predefined time interval, to produce a forced array that indicates whether the electrolyzer may be forced to operate at each time interval during the prediction length responsive to the electrolyzer being online, and to produce an availability array that indicates whether the electrolyzer is available for operation at each time interval during the prediction length responsive to the electrolyzer being offline; an optimization module having: an operating power determinator configured to produce an operating power value for the electrolyzer; and an operating constraints module configured to impose at least one operating constraint on the determination of the operating power value by the operating power determinator using at least one of the forced array or the availability array; and a post-processing module configured to determine whether to send to the electrolyzer instructions including at least one of a start command, a stop command, or the optimized operating power value produced by the operating power determinator.