Characterisation and modelling of a 5 kW PEMFC for transportation applications

In the framework of the French inter lab SPACT project (fuel cell systems for transportation applications), a 10 kW PEM fuel cell testing bench has been installed in 2002 in the national fuel cell test platform located in Belfort, France. The behaviour of a 5 kW fuel cell, fed with humidified pure hydrogen gas and compressed air, has been investigated by the Laboratory of Electrical Engineering and Systems (L2ES) in association with the French National Institute for Transport and Safety Research (INRETS).A set of polarisation curves has been recorded under various conditions of temperatures, stoichiometry rates, and pressures in order to obtain a static cartography of the stack. These experimental static results have been used to feed in data a PEMFC single cell model developed by the French “Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique” (CEA). This largely mechanistic model is described in this paper in a global way. Two different methods allowing the identification of the fuel cell current–voltage electrical relation are presented. The behaviour of the stack operating in dynamic conditions linked to specific transportation mission profiles has been studied too. Simulation done thanks to the CEA model and experimental results collected on the L2ES testbench are compared and analysed on specific driving cycles.