Progress and perspectives of integrated thermal management systems in PEM fuel cell vehicles: A review

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) vehicles (PEMFCV) have drawn tremendous attention owing to the advantages of low or zero emissions. Effective integrated thermal management systems (ITMS) considering thermal loops coupling and interaction and with a rational strategy are crucial for the efficient and secure operation of PEMFCV. Therefore, ITMS in PEMFCV are worthy to be reviewed comprehensively. This paper aims to provide the general and current ideas of ITMS design in PEMFCV from part-level to system-level, along with control strategies. The factors that affect the thermal performance of heat-generating components and systems are deeply analysed, and the key findings, challenges, and future work are presented. It is found that liquid cooling is more appropriate for ITMS because of the high specific heat and the convenience of integrating other thermal systems, and that heat pumps tend to be a more suitable choice for air conditioning systems. The future work mainly includes the improvement of cooling and cold start of PEMFC, perfection and verification of waste heat recovery system, exploration of new air conditioning systems, integration of systems, coupling of ITMS and energy management systems, and enhancement of model accuracy. The provided information is useful to guide the system layout and control strategies for ITMS at the early design stage. [Display omitted] •The state of art for thermal management of the main components and systems in PEMFCV was reviewed.•ITMS in HEV were summarized for comparison with those in PEMFCV.•The current progress, challenges and future work of ITMS in PEMFCV were presented.