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Design, Monitoring and Control of Fuel Cells in Hybrid Energy Systems

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "D2: Electrochem: Batteries, Fuel Cells, Capacitors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 December 2026 | Viewed by 511

Editors


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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Engines, School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Interests: fuel cell technology; hydrogen production and storage; hydrogen power system integration; electrochemistry; mass transfer and thermal management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Interests: fuel cell; thermal management; energy management
Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130022, China
Interests: low-carbon engine combustion; PEM fuel cells; thermal management of electric vehicles; green energy; artificial intelligence

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Hydrogen fuel cells convert hydrogen energy electrochemically into electricity and heat, with high energy conversion efficiency and zero emissions, and have drawn extensive attention worldwide. Fuel cells are usually combined with other power sources, such as batteries, internal combustion engines and supercapacitors, to form hybrid energy systems in order to achieve better fuel economy, dynamic response capabilities and the durability of the energy system. Their use has been increasing in both traditional and developing fields, including in electric vehicles, aircraft, aerospace, ships, submarines, robotics and power and heat stations. The growing use of hybrid fuel cell energy systems has pushed forward the research on electrode materials, flow fields, stack assemblies, BOPs, system design, condition monitoring, energy management and control strategies.

This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate the most recent advances related to the design, monitoring and control of fuel cells in all kinds of hybrid energy systems, including hydrogen fuel cells and fuel cells powered with other fuels.

Possible publication topics for this issue include, but not limited to, the following:

  • Design, monitoring and control of fuel cells in all kinds of hybrid energy systems, including hydrogen fuel cells and fuel cells powered with other fuels;
  • Hybrid energy system design;
  • Reliability design;
  • Fuel cell materials and stack design;
  • Fuel cell system design;
  • Water and gas state monitoring;
  • Heat, electricity and voltage monitoring;
  • Health state recognition and fault diagnosis;
  • Energy management;
  • Power splitting;
  • Thermal management;
  • Control methods, including model predictive control, fuzzy control, adaptive control, and reinforcement learning control;
  • Multiobjective optimization.

Dr. Yanzhou Qin
Dr. Xiaoqing Zhang
Dr. Song Yang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fuel cells
  • hybrid energy system
  • design
  • monitoring
  • control

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

45 pages, 3693 KB  
Review
Research Progress on Flow Fields and Flow Channels of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells
by Anbo Xu, Song Yang, Mengya Gao, Huili Dou, Jiahao Zhang, Yang Liu, Yunming Zhao, Jidong Li, Tingting Gao and Haidong Bian
Energies 2026, 19(13), 3174; https://doi.org/10.3390/en19133174 - 3 Jul 2026
Viewed by 225
Abstract
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), characterized by high efficiency, zero carbon emissions, and low-temperature start-up capability, are among the most promising clean energy technologies. The design of flow channels and flow fields is critical for enhancing fuel cell power density, mitigating water [...] Read more.
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), characterized by high efficiency, zero carbon emissions, and low-temperature start-up capability, are among the most promising clean energy technologies. The design of flow channels and flow fields is critical for enhancing fuel cell power density, mitigating water flooding, and reducing costs. This paper systematically reviews the effects of key geometric factors in PEMFC flow fields and channels, including structural geometry, cross-sectional shape, and baffle design, on cell performance, with the aim of improving water management and enhancing PEMFC performance. Furthermore, the optimization of flow fields such as parallel, serpentine, and interdigitated configurations is reviewed as well. Particularly, the structural features and enhancement mechanisms of biomimetic and novel flow fields, as well as the advantages of three-dimensional flow fields in promoting mass transfer and improving water and thermal management, are discussed, thereby laying a foundation for the innovation and development of future high-performance proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design, Monitoring and Control of Fuel Cells in Hybrid Energy Systems)
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