A Review on Cold Start of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Zhongmin Wan, Huawei Chang, Shuiming Shu, Yongxiang Wang and Haolin Tang
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Zhongmin Wan: College of Information & Communication Engineering, Hunan Institution of Science and Technology, Yueyang 414006, Hunan, China
Huawei Chang: School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, China
Shuiming Shu: School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, China
Yongxiang Wang: School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, China
Haolin Tang: State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, Hubei, China

Energies, 2014, vol. 7, issue 5, 1-25

Abstract: Successful and rapid startup of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) at subfreezing temperatures (also called cold start) is of great importance for their commercialization in automotive and portable devices. In order to maintain good proton conductivity, the water content in the membrane must be kept at a certain level to ensure that the membrane remains fully hydrated. However, the water in the pores of the catalyst layer (CL), gas diffusion layer (GDL) and the membrane may freeze once the cell temperature decreases below the freezing point ( T f ). Thus, methods which could enable the fuel cell startup without or with slight performance degradation at subfreezing temperature need to be studied. This paper presents an extensive review on cold start of PEMFCs, including the state and phase changes of water in PEMFCs, impacts of water freezing on PEMFCs, numerical and experimental studies on PEMFCs, and cold start strategies. The impacts on each component of the fuel cell are discussed in detail. Related numerical and experimental work is also discussed. It should be mentioned that the cold start strategies, especially the enumerated patents, are of great reference value on the practical cold start process.

Keywords: proton exchange membrane (PEM); fuel cell; subfreezing temperature; cold start (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

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