Smart fuel cell module (6.5 kW) for a range extender application

To extend the autonomy of electrical vehicles, fuel cells are a possible complementary power source. This source must be electrically adapted through a DC-DC converter and mechanically easily integrated. This paper shows the design of a 6-phase interleaved boost converter (6.5 kW max.) for this application. Due to integration constraints, the converter should be mounted on the terminal plates of the fuel cell and cooled by the same cooling circuit. To dissipate the losses of the semiconductors, the terminal plate embeds 30 cooling channels under the printed circuit board. The converter efficiency has been measured up to 96.5% for a minimum output power (1.5 kW) and a minimum output voltage (240 V). To move forward the design of the smart fuel cell module (i.e. with power electronics), a new development is ongoing for an aircraft application by designing a specific and optimized cooling system.