Evaluation of performance degradation of high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells using a simple start-stop testing protocol

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to determine the effect of accelerated start-stop cycling protocol on a high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell performance under operating temperature of 160 $^{\circ}\mathbf{C}$ and current density of 0.4 A cm-2. The degradation rates during 200 start-stop cycles are analysed and discussed. The results are supported by polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The overall degradation over 200 start-stop cycles is -49 mV and the average degradation rate per one cycle is -0.25 mV.