US 11,876,262 B2
Fuel cell power unbalancing to control degradation and improve performance
Takehito Yokoo, Aliso Viejo, CA (US)
Assigned to Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Plano, TX (US)
Filed by Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc, Plano, TX (US)
Filed on Mar. 5, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/193,188.
Prior Publication US 2022/0285706 A1, Sep. 8, 2022
Int. Cl. H01M 8/04537 (2016.01); B60L 58/33 (2019.01)
CPC H01M 8/04619 (2013.01) [B60L 58/33 (2019.02); H01M 2250/20 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An automotive system comprising:
a plurality of fuel cells; and
a controller coupled to the plurality of fuel cells, the controller including a stored set of instructions, which when executed by the controller, cause the controller to:
predict an unbalanced degradation in a first fuel cell as compared to one or more other fuel cells among the plurality of fuel cells, wherein the prediction occurs before the plurality of fuel cells produce unbalanced output power, and
apply an unbalanced control across the plurality of fuel cells based on the unbalanced degradation, wherein the unbalanced degradation indicates that the first fuel cell will degrade more quickly over time as compared to the one or more other fuel cells, and wherein the unbalanced control is to balance the degradation among the plurality of fuel cells so that a first degradation curve of the first fuel cell is adjusted over time to converge with a second degradation curve of the one or more other fuel cells.