Experimental evaluation of a 1 kW proton exchange membrane fuel cell with resistive, DC and AC loads.

In this communication, an experimental investigation is carried out on a PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cell. A small-scale standalone PEM fuel cell system of 1 kW capacity is demonstrated in the present study. The fuel cell is connected to the charge controller, and the charge controller is further connected to the DC and AC loads to study the fuel cell characteristics. A battery bank backup is also provided to account for the stable power output from the fuel cell. The purpose of the study is to determine the fuel cell's performance when operated with resistive, AC, and DC loads (home appliances within the rated power range). The effect of hydrogen flow rates on the power output is also presented in this paper. The DC and AC loads are connected to the fuel cell setup to study the characteristics of the fuel cell. From the study, it can be observed that the performance of the fuel cell is better at higher flow rates of hydrogen. The experimental results showed that the maximum power obtained was 986.8 W at a hydrogen supply rate of 15 LPM. The maximum fuel cell efficiency was found to be 44% at the flow rate of 8 LPM. The charge controller efficiency reported for DC and AC load connections is 94.97% and 96.98%, respectively. The inverter efficiency was observed to increase with the current value, with the maximum value reaching around 98.86%. • Experimental results of a 1 kW small scale PEM fuel cell are presented. • Study explores the effect of resistive, AC and DC loads on fuel cell performance. • Maximum PEM stack efficiency is determined to be 44%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]