Reactant Control Strategies for Maximizing Efficiency in Open Cathode PEM Fuel Cell

The utilization of hydrogen as a sustainable and environmentally-friendly alternative energy source has become increasingly in demand. However, the implementation of hydrogen in fuel cell systems is limited by the exorbitant cost of hydrogen production. Moreover, the magnitude of the inflowing air flow rate must also be considered, as the air supply actuator, which is the fan, also consumes power from the fuel cell, leading to a reduction in the power that can be utilized by the load. This paper proposes a control strategy that addresses these issues. The strategy uses feedforward control of hydrogen flow rate to match demand and feedback-feedforward control of air flow rate to meet air and temperature requirements. The performance metric were increased efficiency and reduced hydrogen consumption. The simulation was conducted on an open cathode fuel cell with a rated power of 1.26 kW by varying the disturbance of the load current. Results indicate that the proposed control system can decrease hydrogen consumption by approximately 44.99% of the original usage. Furthermore, the efficiency values of both the stack and system were found to be higher when compared to the conditions in which no control was implemented.