Experiment and simulation study on cold start of automotive PEMFC

Different methods to improve the cold start of a stack were studied under the different conditions using experiments and simulations. The heat storage period of the stack was analyzed contrastively with /without heat storage. The stack not sealed by heat storage material needs merely 3 hours and 7 hours to drop to 0°C from initial 80°C in the ambient condition of 20°C, respectively, whereas the heat storage period of the stack sealed by the thick polystyrene and vacuum insulation plate with thickness 20 mm are 26 hours and 34.8 hours. The stack was heated by coolant using the different power of electric heater. When the initial temperature of the coolant was 20°C and 40°C and the power of the electric heater was 2.4 KW, it took 323 s and 165 s to heat the stack up to 0°C. The larger the power of electric heater is, the shorter the time of the stack´s temperature which rises to 0°C is. In a word, it is the proper plan is to employ both heat storage and electric heating.