Fuel cell and power conditioning system interactions

This paper intends to serve as a guide for the interactions between the power conditioning system and the fuel cell. The three major factors determining proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell power system dynamic performance, hydration/temperature, compressor time constant, and bulk energy storage are analyzed. The notion of multiple fuel cell time constants is introduced and derived. The various operating points of a fuel cell, ripple current mitigation and energy balance are illustrated with experimental data. Individual time constant validation techniques are offered and different capacitor bulk storage strategies (including ultra capacitors) are analyzed. A complete single phase power conditioning system is presented with experimental waveforms that can apply to different systems.