Abstract

This study evaluates the system-level performance of a fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle  (FCHEV) using a dynamic simulation framework. The powertrain integrates a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell, a battery pack, and an electric traction motor to enable efficient power sharing across varying driving demands. A supervisory energy-management strategy regulates power flow between the fuel cell and the battery based on load requirements, with the fuel cell supplying base power and the battery supporting transient acceleration events. Simulations were conducted for 300-, 500-, and 600-cell stack configurations. The results show that increasing the stack size from 300 to 500 cells improves fuel economy and reduces hydrogen consumption. In contrast, the additional gain from 500 to 600 cells is smaller, indicating diminishing returns beyond 500 cells. Hydrogen consumption is reported together with the battery state of charge (SOC) at the beginning and end of the driving cycle to confirm that the observed efficiency gains are not driven by net battery energy depletion. Overall, the proposed modeling approach provides a reproducible basis for evaluating design trade-offs in fuel cell hybrid powertrains and supports future clean-mobility applications.