IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v244y2025ics0960148125003787.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Review and analysis of thermal management for proton exchange membrane fuel cell hybrid power system

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Xiaoqing
  • Ma, Xiao
  • Zhang, Zhaohuan
  • Du, Haoyu
  • Wu, Zhixuan
  • Li, Zhe
  • Shuai, Shijin

Abstract

With the advancement of low-carbon process, fuel cell vehicle has emerged as a promising solution for heavy-duty trucks. Thermal management is a crucial factor affecting the performance of fuel cell hybrid power systems (FCHPS). However, there is currently a lack of comprehensive reviews on both component and system level thermal management, especially in the area of oil cooling. To explore the development status and trend of FCHPS thermal management system in fuel cell vehicle, this paper summarizes the FCHPS architecture, reviews the progress in key components and hybrid system thermal management, and evaluates the feasibility of applying oil cooling in FCHPS. It is found that indirect water cooling remains the dominant cooling method for FCHPS, and integrated thermal management systems are a growing focus of research. The application of high-efficiency and energy-saving components, such as heat pumps, has also received attention. Looking forward, integrated thermal management systems based on oil cooling are expected to achieve high efficiency and compactness, and the research on multi-scale combined thermal management of components and systems is an important research direction. This review fills the current gap in thermal management studies of FCHPS and provides valuable insights for the development of advanced thermal management technologies.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Xiaoqing & Ma, Xiao & Zhang, Zhaohuan & Du, Haoyu & Wu, Zhixuan & Li, Zhe & Shuai, Shijin, 2025. "Review and analysis of thermal management for proton exchange membrane fuel cell hybrid power system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:244:y:2025:i:c:s0960148125003787
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2025.122716
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148125003787
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2025.122716?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jamila Snoussi & Seifeddine Ben Elghali & Mohamed Benbouzid & Mohamed Faouzi Mimouni, 2018. "Auto-Adaptive Filtering-Based Energy Management Strategy for Fuel Cell Hybrid Electric Vehicles," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-20, August.
    2. Xiaogang Wu & Zhe Chen & Zhiyang Wang, 2017. "Analysis of Low Temperature Preheating Effect Based on Battery Temperature-Rise Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-15, August.
    3. De las Heras, A. & Vivas, F.J. & Segura, F. & Redondo, M.J. & Andújar, J.M., 2018. "Air-cooled fuel cells: Keys to design and build the oxidant/cooling system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 1-20.
    4. Song, Ziyou & Hofmann, Heath & Li, Jianqiu & Hou, Jun & Zhang, Xiaowu & Ouyang, Minggao, 2015. "The optimization of a hybrid energy storage system at subzero temperatures: Energy management strategy design and battery heating requirement analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 576-588.
    5. Sulaiman, N. & Hannan, M.A. & Mohamed, A. & Majlan, E.H. & Wan Daud, W.R., 2015. "A review on energy management system for fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle: Issues and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 802-814.
    6. Pengyu Lu & Qing Gao & Liang Lv & Xiaoye Xue & Yan Wang, 2019. "Numerical Calculation Method of Model Predictive Control for Integrated Vehicle Thermal Management Based on Underhood Coupling Thermal Transmission," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-27, January.
    7. Zhang, Guobin & Yuan, Hao & Wang, Yun & Jiao, Kui, 2019. "Three-dimensional simulation of a new cooling strategy for proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack using a non-isothermal multiphase model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    8. Kui Jiao & Jin Xuan & Qing Du & Zhiming Bao & Biao Xie & Bowen Wang & Yan Zhao & Linhao Fan & Huizhi Wang & Zhongjun Hou & Sen Huo & Nigel P. Brandon & Yan Yin & Michael D. Guiver, 2021. "Designing the next generation of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells," Nature, Nature, vol. 595(7867), pages 361-369, July.
    9. Ou, Kai & Yuan, Wei-Wei & Kim, Young-Bae, 2021. "Development of optimal energy management for a residential fuel cell hybrid power system with heat recovery," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    10. Liu, Zemin Eitan & Li, Yong & Zhou, Quan & Shuai, Bin & Hua, Min & Xu, Hongming & Xu, Lubing & Tan, Guikun & Li, Yanfei, 2025. "Real-time energy management for HEV combining naturalistic driving data and deep reinforcement learning with high generalization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 377(PA).
    11. Song, Zhen & Pan, Yue & Chen, Huicui & Zhang, Tong, 2021. "Effects of temperature on the performance of fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    12. Yan Wang & Qing Gao & Tianshi Zhang & Guohua Wang & Zhipeng Jiang & Yunxia Li, 2017. "Advances in Integrated Vehicle Thermal Management and Numerical Simulation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-30, October.
    13. Prahit Dubey & Gautam Pulugundla & A. K. Srouji, 2021. "Direct Comparison of Immersion and Cold-Plate Based Cooling for Automotive Li-Ion Battery Modules," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-19, February.
    14. Daud, W.R.W. & Rosli, R.E. & Majlan, E.H. & Hamid, S.A.A. & Mohamed, R. & Husaini, T., 2017. "PEM fuel cell system control: A review," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 620-638.
    15. Xu, Jiamin & Zhang, Caizhi & Wan, Zhongmin & Chen, Xi & Chan, Siew Hwa & Tu, Zhengkai, 2022. "Progress and perspectives of integrated thermal management systems in PEM fuel cell vehicles: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    16. Hajmohammadi, M.R. & Toghraei, I., 2018. "Optimal design and thermal performance improvement of a double-layered microchannel heat sink by introducing Al2O3 nano-particles into the water," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 505(C), pages 328-344.
    17. Yuqi Han & Weilin Zhuge & Jie Peng & Yuping Qian & Yangjun Zhang, 2023. "Numerical Investigation on Internal Structures of Ultra-Thin Heat Pipes for PEM Fuel Cells Cooling," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-22, January.
    18. Chen, Qin & Zhang, Guobin & Zhang, Xuzhong & Sun, Cheng & Jiao, Kui & Wang, Yun, 2021. "Thermal management of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells: A review of cooling methods, material properties, and durability," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    19. Wu, Wei & Zhai, Chong & Sui, Zengguang & Sui, Yunren & Luo, Xianglong, 2021. "Proton exchange membrane fuel cell integrated with microchannel membrane-based absorption cooling for hydrogen vehicles," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 560-573.
    20. Xu, Jiamin & Zhang, Caizhi & Fan, Ruijia & Bao, Huanhuan & Wang, Yi & Huang, Shulong & Chin, Cheng Siong & Li, Congxin, 2020. "Modelling and control of vehicle integrated thermal management system of PEM fuel cell vehicle," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    21. Ho-Seong Lee & Choong-Won Cho & Jae-Hyeong Seo & Moo-Yeon Lee, 2016. "Cooling Performance Characteristics of the Stack Thermal Management System for Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles under Actual Driving Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-14, April.
    22. Feng, Yanbiao & Dong, Zuomin, 2020. "Integrated design and control optimization of fuel cell hybrid mining truck with minimized lifecycle cost," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    23. Samimi, Fereshteh & Babapoor, Aziz & Azizi, Mohammadmehdi & Karimi, Gholamreza, 2016. "Thermal management analysis of a Li-ion battery cell using phase change material loaded with carbon fibers," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 355-371.
    24. Chao-Yang Wang & Guangsheng Zhang & Shanhai Ge & Terrence Xu & Yan Ji & Xiao-Guang Yang & Yongjun Leng, 2016. "Lithium-ion battery structure that self-heats at low temperatures," Nature, Nature, vol. 529(7587), pages 515-518, January.
    25. Hosseinzadeh, Elham & Rokni, Masoud & Rabbani, Abid & Mortensen, Henrik Hilleke, 2013. "Thermal and water management of low temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell in fork-lift truck power system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 434-444.
    26. Pei, Pucheng & Chen, Huicui, 2014. "Main factors affecting the lifetime of Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cells in vehicle applications: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 60-75.
    27. Islam, M.R. & Shabani, B. & Rosengarten, G. & Andrews, J., 2015. "The potential of using nanofluids in PEM fuel cell cooling systems: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 523-539.
    28. Yu, Xianxian & Luo, Xiaobing & Tu, Zhengkai, 2023. "Development of a compact high-power density air-cooled proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack with ultrathin steel bipolar plates," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    29. Zhu, Kai-Qi & Ding, Quan & Zhang, Ben-Xi & Xu, Jiang-Hai & Li, Dan-Dan & Yang, Yan-Ru & Lee, Duu-Jong & Wan, Zhong-Min & Wang, Xiao-Dong, 2024. "Performance enhancement of air-cooled PEMFC stack by employing tapered oblique fin channels: Experimental study of a full stack and numerical analysis of a typical single cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 358(C).
    30. Taewook Ha & Dong Kyu Kim, 2021. "Study of Injection Method for Maximizing Oil-Cooling Performance of Electric Vehicle Motor with Hairpin Winding," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-15, February.
    31. Kwan, Trevor Hocksun & Shen, Yongting & Yao, Qinghe, 2019. "An energy management strategy for supplying combined heat and power by the fuel cell thermoelectric hybrid system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C), pages 1-1.
    32. Taewook Ha & Nyeon Gu Han & Min Soo Kim & Kyu Heon Rho & Dong Kyu Kim, 2021. "Experimental Study on Behavior of Coolants, Particularly the Oil-Cooling Method, in Electric Vehicle Motors Using Hairpin Winding," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-15, February.
    33. Islam, Mohammad Rafiqul & Shabani, Bahman & Rosengarten, Gary, 2016. "Nanofluids to improve the performance of PEM fuel cell cooling systems: A theoretical approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 660-671.
    34. Fulai Guo & Chengning Zhang, 2019. "Oil-Cooling Method of the Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor for Electric Vehicle," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-11, August.
    35. Li, Longquan & Liu, Zhiqiang & Deng, Chengwei & Xie, Nan & Ren, Jingzheng & Sun, Yi & Xiao, Zhenyu & Lei, Kun & Yang, Sheng, 2022. "Thermodynamic and exergoeconomic analyses of a vehicular fuel cell power system with waste heat recovery for cabin heating and reactants preheating," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    36. De Vita, Armando & Maheshwari, Arpit & Destro, Matteo & Santarelli, Massimo & Carello, Massimiliana, 2017. "Transient thermal analysis of a lithium-ion battery pack comparing different cooling solutions for automotive applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 101-112.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Najmi, Aezid-Ul-Hassan & Wahab, Abdul & Prakash, Rohith & Schopen, Oliver & Esch, Thomas & Shabani, Bahman, 2025. "Thermal management of fuel cell-battery electric vehicles: Challenges and solutions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 387(C).
    2. Pei, Yaowang & Chen, Fengxiang & Jiao, Jieran & Ye, Huan & Zhang, Caizhi & Jiang, Xiaojie, 2024. "Fuel cell temperature control based on nonlinear transformation mitigating system nonlinearity," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    3. Xu, Jiamin & Zhang, Caizhi & Wan, Zhongmin & Chen, Xi & Chan, Siew Hwa & Tu, Zhengkai, 2022. "Progress and perspectives of integrated thermal management systems in PEM fuel cell vehicles: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    4. Chen, Fengxiang & Pei, Yaowang & Jiao, Jieran & Chi, Xuncheng & Hou, Zhongjun, 2023. "Energy flow and thermal voltage analysis of water-cooled PEMFC stack under normal operating conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    5. Sun, Dahan & Liu, Zhongyan, 2024. "Performance and economic study of a novel high-efficiency PEMFC vehicle thermal management system applied for cold conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    6. Liu, Zhaoming & Chang, Guofeng & Yuan, Hao & Tang, Wei & Xie, Jiaping & Wei, Xuezhe & Dai, Haifeng, 2023. "Adaptive look-ahead model predictive control strategy of vehicular PEMFC thermal management," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    7. Anggito P. Tetuko & Bahman Shabani & John Andrews, 2018. "Passive Fuel Cell Heat Recovery Using Heat Pipes to Enhance Metal Hydride Canisters Hydrogen Discharge Rate: An Experimental Simulation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-19, April.
    8. Sanghyun Yun & Jinwon Yun & Jaeyoung Han, 2023. "Development of a 470-Horsepower Fuel Cell–Battery Hybrid Xcient Dynamic Model Using Simscape TM," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-22, December.
    9. Ma, Yan & Hu, Fuyuan & Hu, Yunfeng, 2023. "Energy efficiency improvement of intelligent fuel cell/battery hybrid vehicles through an integrated management strategy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PE).
    10. Ma, Haoran & Liu, Junheng & Liang, Wenwen & Li, Jiyu & Zhao, Wenyao & Sun, Ping & Ji, Qian, 2024. "Effects of PEMFC cooling channel insulation coating on heat transfer and electrical discharge characteristics of nanofluid coolants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 357(C).
    11. Xia, Zhifeng & Chen, Huicui & Zhang, Ruirui & Weng, Qianyao & Zhang, Tong & Pei, Pucheng, 2023. "Behavior analysis of PEMFC with geometric configuration variation during multiple-step loading reduction process," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 349(C).
    12. Krystof Foniok & Lubomira Drozdova & Lukas Prokop & Filip Krupa & Pavel Kedron & Vojtech Blazek, 2025. "Mechanisms and Modelling of Effects on the Degradation Processes of a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell: A Comprehensive Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-64, April.
    13. Cao, Qiming & Min, Haitao & Sun, Weiyi & Zhao, Honghui & Yu, Yuanbin & Zhang, Zhaopu & Jiang, Junyu, 2024. "A method of combining active and passive strategies by genetic algorithm in multi-stage cold start of proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    14. Chen, Qin & Zhang, Guobin & Zhang, Xuzhong & Sun, Cheng & Jiao, Kui & Wang, Yun, 2021. "Thermal management of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells: A review of cooling methods, material properties, and durability," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    15. Yang, Zirong & Du, Qing & Jia, Zhiwei & Yang, Chunguang & Xuan, Jin & Jiao, Kui, 2019. "A comprehensive proton exchange membrane fuel cell system model integrating various auxiliary subsystems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    16. Ma, Jing & Sun, Yongfei & Zhang, Shiang, 2023. "Experimental investigation on energy consumption of power battery integrated thermal management system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    17. Zhang, Yong & He, Shirong & Jiang, Xiaohui & Yang, Xi & Wang, Zhuo & Zhang, Shuanyang & Cao, Jing & Fang, Haoyan & Li, Qiming, 2024. "Full-scale three-dimensional simulation of air cooling metal bipolar plate proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack considering a non-isothermal multiphase model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 357(C).
    18. Zhou, Yu & Chen, Ben, 2023. "Investigation of optimization and evaluation criteria for flow field in proton exchange membrane fuel cell: A critical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    19. Yang, Zirong & Du, Qing & Jia, Zhiwei & Yang, Chunguang & Jiao, Kui, 2019. "Effects of operating conditions on water and heat management by a transient multi-dimensional PEMFC system model," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 462-476.
    20. Chen, Ben & Deng, Qihao & Yang, Guanghua & Zhou, Yu & Chen, Wenshang & Cai, Yonghua & Tu, Zhengkai, 2023. "Numerical study on heat transfer characteristics and performance evaluation of PEMFC based on multiphase electrochemical model coupled with cooling channel," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:244:y:2025:i:c:s0960148125003787. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.