A Review on Temperature Control of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Abstract

This paper provides a comprehensive review of the temperature control in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells inevitably emit a certain amount of heat while generating electricity, and the fuel cell can only exert its best performance in the appropriate temperature range. At the same time, the heat generated cannot spontaneously keep its temperature uniform and stable, and temperature control is required. This part of thermal energy can be classified into two groups. On the one hand, the reaction heat is affected by the reaction process; on the other hand, due to the impedance of the battery itself to the current, the ohmic polarization loss is caused to the battery. The thermal effect of current generates Joule heat, which is manifested by an increase in temperature and a decrease in battery performance. Therefore, it is necessary to design and optimize the battery material structure to improve battery performance and adopt a suitable cooling system for heat dissipation. To make the PEM fuel cell (PEMFC) universal, some extreme situations need to be considered, and a cold start of the battery is included in the analysis. In this paper, the previous studies related to three important aspects of temperature control in proton exchange membrane fuel cells have been reviewed and analyzed to better guide thermal management of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC).