Fuel cell systems: Control as the key enabler Part I: System description and Challenges

Electromobility continues to gain momentum and with it, fuel cells come to the fore as efficient energy converters for commercial and passenger vehicles, as they allow emissions-free operation with long ranges and short refuelling times. In order to keep these promises, automotive fuel-cell systems must be operated efficiently, robustly and, above all, safely. This poses great challenges to the operation and process management and thus to the control of these systems. This first article in a two-part series presents the fuel cell system for automotive applications from a control engineering perspective and illustrates the necessity and potential of a control system.