Statistical investigation of the most influent parameters on the cold start of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

Cold start of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) remains a challenge for widespread commercialization, especially in embedded application such as in the automotive industry. Here, we propose to statistically study various control and design parameters of a fuel cell system in order to identify the most prevailing ones on the cold start of a PEMFC. A physical model is used to simulate the cold start and the parameters are told apart by calculating their multiple correlation coefficient. It was found that the current density was the most determining factor, along with membrane thickness and initial water content of the ionomer. These results are useful for cold start strategy develoment and Response Surface Methodology and give perpec-tive on the impact of stack ageing and degradation on cold start performance.