An apparatus and a method for controlling a fuel cell system includes a fuel cell system including a fuel cell stack, a balance of plant for operating the fuel cell stack, and a fuel cell controller configured for controlling the BOP, a first power converter located between the fuel cell stack and a first voltage battery and including a bidirectional low voltage DC/DC converter, a second power located between the fuel cell stack and a second voltage battery to include a single bidirectional DC/DC converter module, and a controller configured for operating the first power converter or the single bidirectional DC/DC converter module of the second power converter, when the fuel cell system is started or stopped, and controlling the first power converter or the second power converter to supply driving power to the BOP using electrical energy of the first voltage battery or the second voltage battery.

An apparatus and a method for controlling a fuel cell system includes a fuel cell system including a fuel cell stack, a balance of plant for operating the fuel cell stack, and a fuel cell controller configured for controlling the BOP, a first power converter located between the fuel cell stack and a first voltage battery and including a bidirectional low voltage DC/DC converter, a second power located between the fuel cell stack and a second voltage battery to include a single bidirectional DC/DC converter module, and a controller configured for operating the first power converter or the single bidirectional DC/DC converter module of the second power converter, when the fuel cell system is started or stopped, and controlling the first power converter or the second power converter to supply driving power to the BOP using electrical energy of the first voltage battery or the second voltage battery.

A fuel cell system and the method of controlling the fuel cell system improve next-time startability in the following manner. Hydrogen, air, generation water, and the like that remain inside a large-sized fuel cell system needs to be removed after finishing operation of the large-sized fuel cell system, such as a fuel cell system for generating electric power. To the present end, when an air compressor needs to be operated, one fuel cell module is selected as a power supply module, and an air compressor is operated by the power supply module. Thus, durability of a fuel cell stack is improved, and at the same time, a constant amount of generated electricity necessary to restart the large-sized fuel cell system is ensured.

A method for at least partially compensating for a temperature-induced rise in pressure in a fuel-cell system includes providing a fuel-cell system that has an anode supply path that establishes a fluidic connection between a fuel-cell stack and at least one fuel-source, and an anode-side stack shut-off valve in the anode supply path, the anode-side stack shut-off valve prohibiting the supply of fuel to the fuel-cell stack from an anode section of the anode supply path. The fuel-cell system also has an excess-pressure valve in the anode section, the excess-pressure valve conducting fuel away out of the anode section if the pressure in the anode section exceeds a tripping pressure. In the shut-down state, the pressure in the anode section rises due to warming of the fuel. The anode-side stack shut-off valve is opened to relieve the pressure before the rising pressure in the anode section reaches the tripping pressure.

A fuel cell system in which a fuel cell is coupled to a motor driving battery and a vehicular auxiliary machine is coupled to the motor driving battery via a first voltage converter, the fuel cell system including a fuel cell auxiliary machine coupled to the first voltage converter; and a second voltage converter that couples the fuel cell auxiliary machine to the fuel cell.

A system for estimating a concentration of hydrogen in a fuel cell is provided. The system includes a hydrogen supply line supplying the hydrogen to the fuel cell and a time measurement sensor measuring a time duration from a point in time when an operation of the fuel cell ends to a point in time when the fuel cell restarts. A controller estimates an amount of air introduced into the fuel cell during the time duration using the measured time duration and estimates a concentration of hydrogen in the hydrogen supply line at the time of restarting the fuel cell based on the measured time duration and the estimated amount of introduced air.

A fuel cell control method, control system and electric vehicle. The control method comprises the following steps of determining that the fuel cell is shut down and controlling the fuel cell to enter a standby mode, wherein the standby mode comprises the step of controlling the electric quantity output by the stack module of the fuel cell such that it is used only for maintaining the working temperature of the fuel cell. From the above content, it can be known that according to the technical solution provided by the invention, the low-power consumption standby operation of the fuel cell can be maintained, the temperature of the fuel cell is ensured to be at the working temperature, the heat loss caused by the shutdown of the fuel cell is reduced, the power requirement of a whole vehicle is met in an instant response manner when the fuel cell is started for the second time, the starting time is short, the gas loss and the starting time caused by heating the fuel cell during the second starting are reduced, and the fuel cell does not need to be heated during the second starting, so that the rotating speed of a fan does not need to be increased, and the comfort of the electric vehicle is ensured.

A fuel cell control method, control system and electric vehicle. The control method comprises the following steps of determining that the fuel cell is shut down and controlling the fuel cell to enter a standby mode, wherein the standby mode comprises the step of controlling the electric quantity output by the stack module of the fuel cell such that it is used only for maintaining the working temperature of the fuel cell. From the above content, it can be known that according to the technical solution provided by the invention, the low-power consumption standby operation of the fuel cell can be maintained, the temperature of the fuel cell is ensured to be at the working temperature, the heat loss caused by the shutdown of the fuel cell is reduced, the power requirement of a whole vehicle is met in an instant response manner when the fuel cell is started for the second time, the starting time is short, the gas loss and the starting time caused by heating the fuel cell during the second starting are reduced, and the fuel cell does not need to be heated during the second starting, so that the rotating speed of a fan does not need to be increased, and the comfort of the electric vehicle is ensured.

To provide an electrical power system and an electrical power control device that make it possible to improve fuel efficiency compared to that conventionally possible. An electrical power system according to an embodiment includes fuel cells at a count of n, n representing an integer of 2 or greater, and a controller. The fuel cells are each configured to generate electrical power through electrochemical reactions. The controller is configured to set, based on a required output required in accordance with electrical power to be consumed by a load, an operation mode for each of the fuel cells to one mode determined from a plurality of modes including a first electrical power generation mode under which starting and stopping of generation of electrical power are repeated, a second electrical power generation mode under which generation of electrical power continues, and a stop mode under which generation of electrical power is stopped.

A device supports a refueling process of a vehicle having a fuel cell, wherein the vehicle is configured to carry out a switch-off process of the fuel cell prior to the refueling process. The device includes a control unit that determines that a refueling process shall be carried out. The control unit also, in response to the determination, performs one or more measures that reduce a delay time period for starting the refueling process caused by the switch-off process of the fuel cell.