Hybrid Thermal Management of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells for Energy Efficient Applications

Abstract

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells’ (PEMFCs) performance and durability are strongly constrained by thermal management challenges associated with high power densities and nonuniform heat generation. Conventional active cooling strategies can reduce peak temperatures by approximately 20°C–40°C but often incur high parasitic power consumption and temperature nonuniformities exceeding 5°C–10°C across the active area. Passive approaches, including heat pipes, vapor chambers (VCs), and phase change materials (PCMs), substantially enhance thermal uniformity, achieving temperature gradient reductions of up to 60%–70%, yet remain limited under sustained high-load operation. Consequently, hybrid thermal management strategies integrating active and passive mechanisms have emerged as a promising solution. This review critically synthesizes recent advances in hybrid PEMFC thermal management, encompassing heat-spreading structures, multi-heat-pipe and VC architectures, and PCM-assisted cooling concepts. Numerical modeling approaches are assessed alongside experimental validations at both cell and stack levels. Comparative analysis demonstrates that hybrid systems can reduce maximum operating temperatures by 10°C–25°C, restrict temperature nonuniformity to below 2°C–4°C, and decrease auxiliary power consumption by 15%–30% relative to conventional active cooling. Finally, design-oriented insights are proposed to guide optimized hybrid thermal regulation across diverse operating conditions.