Study On Performance Improvement of Low Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell System by Stack Modification Using Simulation Tool

The low-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (LT-PEMFC) is the leading contender and has been developed intensively over the past decades. On top of that, the challenges associated with the development of PEM fuel cell systems have also increased many times due to the complexity of various technological interactions such as mechanical (hydration systems, compressors, heat exchangers), electrical/electronic (pumps, motors, sensors, power electronics), catalysts, etc. Consequently, this hinders their commercialization and competence with present automotive engines. Nevertheless, to accomplish higher power for the fuel cell power with optimized cost and balance of plant (BoP) specifications, fuel cell system performance behavior study is a must, considering the interactions with the above-discussed Bop system. For this reason, the AVL Cruse-M-Simulation soft-ware is deployed as a critical tool to simulate the performance of LT-PEM fuel cell systems and the various technologies associated with them. Considering the above discussion, the overall aim of this paper is to improve the LT-PEM fuel cell system performance by modifying the fuel cell stack sur-face area, with optimized hydrogen, air and cooling system management to achieve system power of 70–80 kW for use in commercial vehicle applications.