Impact of start-stop and load cycling on the lifetime of PEMFC-powered vehicles

In response to the urgent need to address climate change, the electrification of vehicles will have an important role in the future. In addition to electric battery vehicles, the development of vehicles incorporating PEMFC (Proton exchange membrane fuel cells) systems powered by on-board hydrogen must be included. Although hydrogen fuel cell technology has made great progress in the last twenty years, with the advent of extra-fine reinforced membranes (<15μm) the deployment of hydrogen-powered vehicles has remained constrained by the durability limitation, The aim of the research project is to determine shutdown and start-up optimal strategies for PEMFC and to optimise their functioning to increase their durability. The aim is to achieve an average degradation rate less than 10μV/h, and if possible, even 5μV/h, for an overall lifetime of between 8,000 and 12,000 h.