A PRACTICAL PEM FUEL CELL MODEL FOR
SIMULATING VEHICLE POWER SOURCES
J.C. Amphlett, R.F. Mann, B.A. Peppley, P.R. Roberge, and A. Rodrigues
Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Abstract
The interest in fuel cell technology as an
alternative to internal combustion engines is
growing rapidly with the increased concern with
environmental issues such as reducing vehicle
emissions. Fuel cells offer a power source which
produces electrical energy from fuel and oxidant
which produce little or no emissions. Fuel cell
power sources are being considered for both
terrestrial and marine applications. The research
and commercialization of such systems require
system modelling to determine performance
levels and fuel and oxidant requirements. A
practical model will have to be flexible in its
calculations depending on the information
available.
A model predicting the performance of a
proton exchange membrane fuel cell has been
developed for a Ballard Mark V 5 kW 35-cell
stack. The parametric model combining both
empirical and mechanistic qualities was
developed to calculate the cell voltage output in
terms of complex relationships between current,
stack temperature, and inlet partial pressure of
hydrogen and oxygen. The model utilizes an
iterative computer solution to obtain a practical
flexible model which could calculate any variable
in terms of the others.
This paper illustrates the use of a practical
model to determine the fuel and oxidant
requirements to achieve various levels of power
required for different vehicle power supplies.
Applications to automobiles, buses, locomotives,
ships, submarines, and unmanned underwater
vehicles with power supplies of 3 - 3000 kW
were investigated.
0-780>2459-5/95/$4.00 0 1995
Canadian Crown Copyright
Introduction
The search for cleaner alternative power
sources to the intemal combustion engine (ICE)
has received global attention in the past decade.
The ICE using gasoline produces nitrogen oxides,
carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide which are
harmful to the environment. In North America,
automobiles bum approximately 500 billion litres
of gasoline each year’. California’s zero-
emissions mandate is leading the initiative on the
research and development required for market
commercialization of alternative power sources.
The purpose of this mandate is to develop a more
efficient vehicle with zero or near-zero emissions
and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel
cells combine hydrogen and oxygen over a
platinum catalyst to produce electrochemical
energy and water as the byproduct. Thus, PEM
fuel cells offer a viable option as an alternative
power source for transportation vehicles. The use
of fuel cells for transportation applications has
been considered for a number of years. The
application of PEM fuel cells date back to the
1960’s where they were used on the space
shuttle. Since then, there have been significant
strides in both their cost and performance. Today,
PEM fuel cells offer an alternative power source
for automobiles, buses, locomotives, surface
ships, and submarines. PEM fuel cells are
especially attractive for transportation for their
higher storage density and safe operating
conditions with non-corrosive electrolytes.
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Application of Fuel Cells to Transportation
One of the earliest applications of PEM
fuel cells was the General Electrical Co.- built 1
kW Gemini power plant used on the Gemini
spacecrafts built in the early 1960's. The
performance and life of the Gemini fuel cells
were largely limited by the membrane used at the
time. Since then, cell performance and power
levels have increased significantly2.
For high power densities it is necessary to
minimize weights and volumes of fuel cell
systems for marine, space, and terrestrial
applications. Figure 1 shows various
transportation applications with their approximate
corresponding power requirements.
"IobUu: UOkW
PEM FUEL CELL ''OkW
TRANSPORTATION nn
APPLICATIONS
vehicles: 3 kW
rubnurhwr: 4 W t W
Figure 1 Various PEM fuel cell applications in
transportation and their approximate power
requirements.
There are many companies working to
develop fuel cells for transportation applications:
Unmanned Underwater Vehicles:
Ballard Power Systems and Perry Energy
have developed a Perry PC-14 unmanned
underwater vehicle (W), with a 3 kW PEM
fuel cell stack operating on hydrogen and oxygen
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cylinder gases3. The operating range is six hours
at top speed.
Treadwell Corp., now owned by Energy
Partners, also developed a UUV with a 1 kW 34-
cell (46 cm2/cell active area) PEM fuel cell stack
with an operating range of 1.3 - 2 hours at top
speed'.
Submarines:
The development of fuel cell powered
submarines have been investigated for over a
decade by German companies such as
Howaldtswerke-Deutsche We& AG (HDW),
Ingenieurkontor Lubeck (IKL), and Ferrostaal
(FS). Some companies involved in underwater
vehicle applications include International Fuel
Cells Corp., Ballard Power Systems, Energy
Partners, Siemens AG, Vickers Ship Building and
Engineering Ltd., and Perry Energ$.
Ballard Power Systems and the Canadian
Department of National Defence are investigating
the application of PEM fuel cells for air
independent propulsion in submarines. These
submarines will require 300-400 kW for a PEM
fuel cellhattery hybrid system to store an energy
of 100-200 MWh3.
Locomotives:
Burlington Northem Co. and General
Electric Transportation Systems are investigating
fuel cells as an alternative power source for
locomotives. A sole power source of 3000 kW
will be required as hauling power for a 21 m .
long 181,000 kg locomotive, according to GM2.
Surface Ships:
Analytic Power Corp. is investigating the
use of PEM fuel cells for surface ships for the
U.S. Office of Naval Technology. The system
will operate on diesel fuel and air. Analytic
Power is currently developing a 10 kW DC
power plant consisting of 56 PEM fuel cells.
Eventually, a power source of approximately
1400 kW will be required for surface ships.
Buses:
Ballard Power Systems has developed the
first zero-emission-vehicle (ZEV) fuel cell bus.
The 20-passenger bus requires a power of 100-
120 kW with 24 stacks of 35 cells each (230
cm2/ceIl active area) currently operating on
hydrogen cylinder gas and an air compressor.
The bus has a range of 160 km with an
acceleration of 0 to 50 km/h in 20 s and a top
speed of 70 km/h. The next stages in
development will increase the passenger capacity
and travel range by improving hydrogen storage
and fuel cell performance4.
Automobiles:
Energy Partners is developing a zero-
emission electric vehicle "EP Green Car" using a
PEM fuel cellhattery hybrid system. The 15 kW
fuel cell system consists of 3 stacks with a total
of 180 cells (780 cm'/cell active area) which will
operate on hydrogen and air at 2.4 atm producing
a stack voltage of 125 V at 120 A. The
performance objectives are a 97 km range for
city driving, an acceleration of 0 to 48 km/h in
10 s, and a maximum speed of 97 km/h'.
General Motors Co. is developing an
indirect methanol-air PEM fuel cell system with
two 40 kW stacks. The fuel cell system for the
vehicle was to be tested using a 10 kW system2.
Ford Motor Co. is also to develop a PEM
fuel cell system for vehicles. In the first stage of
development, the company is to develop a 10-15
kW system fuelled by hydrogen at 2.0 atm and
weighing less than 4 kg/kW. The ultimate goal is
to produce a 50 kW system at less than 3
kg/kW'.
Daimler-Benz, Ballard Power Systems,
Los Alamos National Laboratory, and United
Technologies Corp. are also developing PEM fuel
cell cars with methanol reformers on-board as a
source of hydrogen'.
A Practical Fuel Cell Model
A performance model for a Ballard proton
exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack was
previously developed '. The model incorporated
223
both the mechanistic and empirical properties to
describe the electrochemical phenomena of
combining oxygen and hydrogen over a platinum
catalyst to produce an electrical current and
water. The previous model predicted the cell
voltage in terms of inlet partial pressures of
hydrogen and oxygen, stack temperature, and
operating current. The cell voltage was defined as
the sum of three terms:
where
Vccll cell voltage (V)
E thermodynamic electrode potential (V)
activation overpotential (V)
ohmic overpotential (V)
The electrode potential is the potential at
open circuit conditions without an imposed
current. It is a function of temperature and inlet
partial pressures of hydrogen and oxygen whose
values should not vary from cell to cell.
The activation and ohmic overpotentials
are inherently negative values which reduce the
cell voltage from the thermodynamic potential.
The activation overpotential is determined by
four parametric coefficients, cl e.,,
to and is a
function of temperature, current, and inlet partial
pressure of oxygen.
where
cO2*= concentration oxygen at the
gadcatalyst interface (moVcm3)
T = stack temperature (K)
i = operating current (A)
The ohmic overpotential is the negative
product of the operating current and intemal cell
resistance. The intemal resistance shown in
Equation [3] is determined by three purely
empirical coefficients, to e,,and is a function
of temperature and current.
 where Ri"' = €5 + EJ + E,i

The seven coefficients are based on the

linear regression of experimental data taken over
a certain range of parameter values. Experimental
design techniques were used to plan an optimum
set of experimental runs over the given range for
a particular coefficient accuracy. Recent work has
led to an improved set of parametric coefficients
for the fuel cellvoltage expressed as:
f, = -0.944
= 3.54x 10-3
F ; ~ = 7.8ox 10-5 igure 2 A typical PEM fuel cell voltage
E, = -1.96x10-4 response surface for a Ballard Mark V cell wi&
E, = 3.3ox 10-3 simultaneous changes in the inlet partial pressure
€6 = -7.55x
of oxygen and the current density at a constant
stack temperature of 80°C.
E, = l.lOx

The coefficients for the fuel cell performance

model were validated for the operating range:
inlet pressure of air 10-50 psig
inlet pressure of hydrogen 10-50 psig Similarly, the amount of oxygen
operating current density 138-388 ASF consumed by the fuel cell (moVs) is one-half that
stack temperature 50-80 "C of hydrogen given the stoichiometry of the
H,/Air stoich ratios 1.1Y2.5 & 2.0/2.0 reaction.
A characteristic surface plot for the Ballard stack
is shown in Figure 2.
The amount of hydrogen consumed by the
fuel cell (moVs) can be defined as:
In a practical model simulation, a
[41 value for the stack temperature will be optimized
and the variable of interest would be the inlet
oxygen pressure for a given power level. Because
where of the complex nature of our model equations
Nceilr = number of fuel cells in the system which consist of a series of equations, the inlet
n = number of valence electrons (n = 2) pressure conditions appear several times in the
F = Faraday's constant (96487 C/mol) equation and its solution will require computer
iteration techniques. Equations [I] to [5] are used

224
in an iterative loop to converge the program
solution on a predicted value for inlet oxygen
pressure. Figure 3 shows the predicted program-
calculated oxygen partial pressures required to
reach a given power level using a Ballard Mark
V cell. The total power, Pm,,generated by the
fuel cell system can be defined as:
v
Cell Power (W/cell)
'igure 3 The predicted inlet partial pressure of
oxygen at various power levels for a Ballard
Mark V cell.
Simulating Vehicle Power Sources
The simulation of vehicle power sources
using a practical fuel cell model will be useful in
predicting the parameter settings for any given
power level requirement. The control program of
such a vehicle would require the oxygen and
hydrogen partial pressures and the oxygen and
hydrogen consumption. The stack temperature
and oxidant and hydrogen stoichiometry are
predetermined optimized values. The fuel cell
power output required for a given vehicle speed
can be adjusted by controlling both the oxygen
and hydrogen at equal partial pressures. The
22s
relationship between vehicle speed and the power
level requirement will be dependent on the type
of vehicle and its auxiliary components.
Figure 3 shows that a cell voltage must be
given, so that a power level can be chosen. The
plot shows three cell voltage levels of 0.8, 0.7,
and 0.6 V/cell. The power level will then
determine the oxygen and hydrogen quantities
required shown in Figure 4.
For the various vehicle power sources
shown in Figure 1, the predicted number of
Ballard Mark V cells in the power generation
unit, oxidant partial pressure, and hydrogen and
oxygen consumed by the unit are shown in
Figure 4. As expected, larger power requirements
will require more fuel cells which will consume
more oxygen and hydrogen. These values may be
used to calculate the required fuel and oxidant
storage space. In most cases, limited storage
space will mean shorter driving distances
between refuelling, which will also be dependent
on the type of oxidant and fuel chosen.
'igure 4 The predicted number of Sallard Mark
V cells and the oxygen and hydrogen
requirements for the various transportation
applications shown in Figure 1.

Discussion
The amount of hydrogen and oxygen
consumed is based on the number of cells and
the operating current as shown in Equations [4]
and [5].The amount of hydrogen consumed by a
fuel cell system was calculated at 5.2 x
moVs/A/cell (3.8 x 1O-' kg/hr/A/cell). Similarly,
the amount of oxygen consumed was 2.6 x 10"
moVdNcel1 (3.0 x lo4 kg/hr/A/cell). A common
current density of 400 ASF and a voltage level of
0.7 V/cell was chosen for the values shown in
Figure 4. The number of fuel cells shown were
based on a Ballard Mark V configuration with
0.25ft2 active area per cell. The number of fuel
cells increases for larger power demands, such as
the ship and train which require over 1 MW of
power. The number of cells for these applications
are as high as 42,000 cells which, even with
stacks of 50 cells, would require 840 stacks. For
larger power requirements, some researchers'
have proposed an optimized hybrid system with
fuel cell and batteries as discussed in the given
submarine example requiring only a 400 kW fuel
cell system. As expected, Figure 4 shows that as
the transportation application gets larger, the fuel
cell system requirement will significantly
increase in size along with the fuel and oxidant
requirements. For example, a 3 kW UUV system
requires 43 cells and about 0.02 molls (0.2 kg/hr)
of hydrogen and 0.01 moVs (1.3 kg/hr) of oxygen
while a 400 kW fuel celhattery hybrid
submarine would require about 6000 cells and
approximately 3 mol/s (22 kg/hr) of hydrogen
and 1.5 molls (171 kg/hr) of oxygen. If fuel and
oxidant storage becomes a problem, the travelling
distances of the vehicles may have to be
restricted.
of transportation applications.
References
1. "Search on for Fuel Alternatives", The Toronto
Star, 3 March 94, p.Al.
2. Bomen, L.J.M.J., and Mugerwa, M.N. Fuel
Cell Systems, Plenum Publishing Corp., Toronto,
1993.
3. Baumert, R., and Epp, D. Proceedings of
Oceans '93 Conference, Victoria, Oct. 1993, Vol.
11.
4. Nadal, M., and Barbir, F.. Proceedings of the
I iYh World Hydrogen Energy Conference, Cocoa
Beach, F1, June 1994, 1427-1440.
5. Malloy, G. "Carmakers say Fuel Cell May
Beat any Superbattery", The Toronto Star, May
7, 1994, p. L18.
6. J.C. Amphlett, R.M. Baumert,T.J. Harris, RF.
Mann, B.A. Peppley, P.R. Roberge, accepted by
Journal of the Electrochem. Soc. , August, 1994.
7. Amphlett, J.C., Baumert, R.M., Mann, R.F.,
Peppley, B.A., and Roberge, P.R.. Proceedings of
the Electrochemical Society, Toronto, Ont.,
October 1992.

Conclusions
A practical model which calculates the
oxygen and hydrogen requirements for a given
power level is a useful tool in estimating the
operating conditions and the hydrogen and
oxygen requirements for the power generating
system. Such a model is applicable to a variety

226