Performance Analysis of Automotive Fuel Cell during Activation Period

Fuel cell has a broad application prospect, whereas the durability, cost and performance need optimization for further commercialization. Fuel cell activation procedure is an important way to effectively improve fuel cell performance, but has received little attention, especially during automotive operation. In this paper, we focus on the performance characteristics of the on-board fuel cell activation stage and introduce two online performance analysis methods suitable for vehicle conditions. It is found that during the activation phase, the voltage degradation caused by vehicle operating conditions and the performance optimization introduced by hydration occur simultaneously. Due to the effect of operating current on hydration, fuel cells exhibit different performance characteristics at different currents. The analysis provides a basis for the control strategy design in the activation phase of automotive PEMFC, so that the fuel cell can quickly achieve the best performance.