Voltage degradation coefficients validation on PEMFC stacks tested in different operating conditions

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) systems are spreading for electrical power generation. However, voltage degradation affects their operating lifetime, making the previsions on voltage degradation associated with the operating conditions of the FC system crucial. In this paper, the aim of the authors is to validate literature’s Voltage Degradation Coefficients (VDC) associated with the operating conditions verified via experimental campaigns on two different PEMFC systems: one installed and tested at the Innovative Energy System (IES) Laboratory in Savona (IT) (System1), and one at the European Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Petten (NL) (System2). For both the systems two polarization curves (IV curves) were considered, one performed at the beginning and one at the end of each systems’ test campaigns, in which two systems were operated in different operating conditions and for different periods in time. The voltages values of the last IV curve were compared to the ones calculated by subtracting the voltage degradation calculated using the VDCs to the voltage values of the first IV curve. The real and predicted voltage values were in perfect agreement, with a percentage relative error within the 3%, validating these coefficients for both the systems.

CROSA Silvia;  GADDUCCI Eleonora;  LAMBERTI Thomas;  SATURNIO Antonio;  MAGISTRI Loredana; 

2025-12-16

European Fuel Cell Forum AG

JRC132782

https://www.efcf.com/2023,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC132782,