An Adaptive Cold Start Strategy of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Based on Maximum Power Mode

An adaptive cold start strategy of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) was proposed, based on maximum power mode. The proposed strategy presents a water evacuation process after PEMFC shutdown and an internal heating process at PEMFC cold start up. The internal heating process is based on an online adaptive algorithm that maximizes the internal PEMFC heat depending on PEMFC operating parameters variation and keeps the current density at high levels, leading to PEMFC performance improvement caused by membrane hydration and temperature increase. The experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed strategy, which presents fast and cost-effective PEMFC cold start.