Accelerated stress test procedures for PEM fuel cells under actual load constraints: State-of-art and proposals

Research activities concerning proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) are mainly aimed to reach lifespan objective. To this purpose numerous experimental tests are usually scheduled. In this framework, the studies involved in system aging and lifetime prediction can be extremely time consuming and costly. Thus, introducing accelerated aging methodologies to reduce test duration and costs becomes now an open question at an international level. This article aims to raise awareness on this topic, analysing the accelerated stress test (AST) applications proposed in PEMFC domain. An overview on the main protocols reported in literature is then presented focusing on PEMFC lifetime prediction applications. The open issues related to the protocols' development and to the AST coupling with natural aging are also evaluated. Finally, new proposals are presented. In the last part of the article the fundamentals to develop a new approach for lifetime prediction based on adaptable load cycling are introduced.