System model development for a methanol reformed 5 kW high temperature PEM fuel cell system

•Model designed to test control strategies in a methanol reforming system.•Included two system designs for heatup and operation.•Startup time examined and estimated to about 45minutes.•System efficiency about 28-30% during load

This work investigates the system performance when reforming methanol in an oil heated reformer system for a 5 kW fuel cell system. A dynamic model of the system is created and evaluated. The system is divided into 4 separate components. These components are the fuel cell, reformer, burner and evaporator, which are connected by two separate oil circuits, one with a burner and reformer and one with a fuel cell and evaporator. Experiments were made on the reformer and measured oil and bed temperatures are presented in multiple working points. The system is examined at loads from 0 to 5000 W electric and the response time and efficiency of the system are evaluated. The efficiency is estimated to be around 28–30% during load. Startup of the system is estimated to be around 45 min.