Study on Transient Voltage Regulation of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Based on Model Predictive Control and PID Control

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are widely applied in transportation and portable power systems; however, the frequent occurrence of voltage overshoot and undershoot during dynamic operation significantly compromises system performance and durability. To address this issue, this study investigates the transient voltage regulation of PEMFCs by integrating the classical proportional–integral–derivative (PID) control with advanced model predictive control (MPC). We established a dynamic PEMFC model and designed an MPC controller based on system linearization, with the oxygen excess ratio selected as the manipulated variable. We conducted comparative simulations of PID and MPC in the Simulink environment. The results reveal that MPC achieves superior performance in suppressing voltage overshoot and undershoot, leading to enhanced system stability and faster dynamic response compared with PID. These findings provide theoretical support and practical guidance for the optimization of control strategies in PEMFC systems.