Method for controlling a cathode gas compressor system

Abstract

A method (400) for controlling a multi-stage cathode gas compressor system (100) for a fuel cell system (300) is proposed, wherein the cathode gas compressor system (100) has a first electrically operated cathode gas compressor (110) and a second electrically operated cathode gas compressor (120), comprising: Providing criteria for monitoring (411) a respective current operating functionality of the at least two cathode gas compressors (110, 120); Providing operating modes (401) for the cathode gas compressor system; Determining the respective current operating functionality (403) of the at least two cathode gas compressors (110, 120) based on the monitoring criteria; and adapting the current operating mode (408) of the cathode gas compressor system (100) based on the respective operating functionality of the at least two cathode gas compressors (110, 120).

Description

The present invention relates to a method for controlling a multistage cathode gas compressor system for a fuel cell systemPrior ArtIn vehicles (FCV=fuel cell vehicle) in which drive energy is also supplied, inter alia, by one or more fuel cell systems (FCS=fuel cell system), the oxidizing agent oxygen from the ambient air is generally used to react in the fuel cell with hydrogen to water or water vapor, and thus to supply an electrical power by electrochemical conversion. The ambient air is to be supplied to the fuel cell stack by means of an air delivery system or air compression system, i.e. a corresponding, in particular variable, air mass flow and a corresponding pressure level are necessary for this purpose.Disclosure of the InventionThe air compression systems can be realized with highly performance air compression units which can realize higher system pressures in the cathode path than would be achievable with a single-stage compression. The air compression systems may include at least two electric driven air compressors (EAC) or compressors, which may additionally include a turbine. Embodiments of the air compression systems can have one or more compressor impellers and optionally also turbine impellers, and can be embodied as single-flow or multi-flow, single-flow or multi-stage. The air compression systems can be used to supply one or more fuel cell stacks or cathode paths of fuel cell stacks or fuel cell units. The fuel cell stacks can have different or identical designs and / or different or identical power classes. The air compression systems can be connected in series and thus implement multistage compression processes, in particular single- to four-stage compression processes. Individual units can be bridged by means of a bypass in order to enable a single-stage process. In particular, such an air compression system may have a topology with two electric motor driven compressors, which may additionally have turbines for exhaust gas recuperation in order to provide cathode gas for one or more fuel cell stacks.These air compression units or cathode gas compressors can be complex units with high and varied requirements which simultaneously meet economically favorable requirements. The cathode gas compressors can have passive gas bearings, for example, in order to be able to ensure freedom from oil in the air being conveyed. The cathode gas compressors have the requirement to be operated worldwide in a large operating range, so that the compressors are enabled in spite of environmental influences, such as changing temperatures and / or air pressures and / or air humidity and / or system influences, such as aging of the system or of the individual compressor, operation in ranges from minimum load to maximum load with different use cases and operating modes, such as start-stop and / or freeze-start, etc.In such operation of cathode gas compressors, a variety of possible failures may occur, such as:F01. Blocked shaft by frozen water in the bearings;F02. Blocked wave due to corrosion at long standstill times;F03. Blocked wave by frozen turbine;F04. blocked wave due to dirt input;F05. Stiffness due to bearing wear;F06. Difficulty due to soil introduction;F07. bearing damage caused by accelerations / vibrations, for example during travel;F08. On-board power supply is defective or deficient;F09. Power supply via HV battery is defective or deficient;F010. SOC in the HV battery being too low for supplying one / both EACs;F011. defects or defective cooling of one / both EACs;F012. Overheating / Too High Temperatures at One / Both EACs.F013. Power electronics are defective or deficientF014. E-machine defective or defectiveAccording to aspects of the invention, there is provided a method of controlling a multistage cathode gas compressor system, a multistage cathode gas compressor system and a fuel cell system according to the features of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments are the subject matter of the dependent claims and of the following description.According to one aspect, a method for controlling a multistage cathode gas compressor system for a fuel cell system is proposed, wherein the cathode gas compressor system comprises a first electrically operated cathode gas compressor and a second electrically operated cathode gas compressor. In one step, criteria for monitoring a respective current operating functionality of the at least two cathode gas compressors are provided. In a further step, operating modes for the cathode gas compressor system, and in particular, are selected. In a further step, the respective operating functionality of the at least two cathode gas compressors is determined on the basis of the criteria. In a further step, the current operating mode of the cathode gas compressor system is changed and / or adapted and / or selected based on the respective operating functionality of the at least two cathode gas compressors. In particular, the operating modes for the cathode gas compressor system can be assigned to respective current operating functionalities of the at least two cathode gas compressors.The respective current operating functionality of the at least two cathode gas compressors can be based on different criteria for monitoring by virtue of measured values, sensor signals, diagnoses, plausibility checking, monitoring functions and / or tests for the respective electrically operated cathode gas compressors being activated and / or carried out for the first and / or the second electrically operated cathode gas compressor.The operational functionality of the at least two cathode gas compressors may be broadly designed and may include functionality and / or limited functionality and / or special functionality.The at least two electrically operated cathode gas compressors can be connected fluidically in parallel and / or in series.The determination of the respective current operating functionality of the at least two cathode gas compressors can be carried out permanently, iteratively or situatively in order to carry out an adaptation of the current operating mode in accordance with the respective current operating functionality.Alternatively or additionally, the determination of the respective current operating functionality can also comprise carrying out test functions with which, in particular, components of the multistage cathode gas compressor system can be changed in their state. For example, by lowering and / or increasing a starting current of a cathode gas compressor, a test for determining mechanical friction when the rotor breaks loose can be carried out.Advantageously, the method can be used to perform an adaptation of the current operating mode of the cathode gas compressor system in response to fault cases, wherein the fault cases can be identified by determining the respective current operating functionality of the at least two cathode gas compressors.The method can be used advantageously in vehicles of different vehicle classes with fuel cell systems, in particular in CV applications which use highly performance and hydrogen (H2) consumption-optimized systems.Advantageously, with the described method, despite a fault case or a restriction of the operating functionality of individual cathode gas compressors of the multistage cathode gas compressor system, by means of the redundancy of the cathode gas compressors, an operation of the fuel cell system can be maintained in a controlled manner and / or the fuel cell system can be continued to be operated, since fault cases can be intercepted and / or mitigated. Limits of continued operation can be reached when corresponding faults occur for both cathode gas compressors.Moreover, the method can achieve that individual cathode gas compressors of the multistage cathode gas compressor system are selectively operated with limited performance or, in particular temporarily, are completely shut down.In this case, different fault scenarios of the multistage cathode gas compressor can be intercepted, at least partially, by means of the operating modes provided if restrictions on the current operating functionality and / or the fuel cell operation result from the determination of the respective operating functionality.In other words, an operating strategy changeover can be carried out in response to detected fault cases, or a restricted current operating functionality. Alternatively or additionally, a wanted and / or requested operating strategy changeover can be carried out.In particular, the operating modes can have:Operation of the multistage cathode gas compressor system without restrictions (normal mode); operation of the multistage cathode gas compressor system according to the determined respective operating functionality of the at least two cathode gas compressors in an operating mode with respective, in particular power, restrictions of the at least two cathode gas compressors (partial power mode); operation of only one of the at least two cathode gas compressors, in particular with power restrictions of the active cathode gas compressor (failure mode); operating mode, or measures and / or alarms, in the event of failure of the at least two cathode gas compressors.Switching over of operating modes can be carried out within the cathode gas compressor system, in particular by a control of the cathode gas compressor system. System controllers higher in level with the cathode gas compressor system may be signally coupled to the cathode gas compressor system to provide limited performance modes of operation to the higher in level system controller. As a result, power adaptations of the fuel cell system can be adapted by the superordinate system controller.Advantageously, the method can provide robust system operation, since redundancies in the cathode gas compressor system are used to provide at least one operation mode with limited performance of the cathode gas compressor system. Additionally or alternatively, with this method, reliability of the cathode gas compressor system can be increased. TCO (technical cost of owner ship) or customer satisfaction can thus be ensured. In particular, the respective operating mode can be selected depending on the respective operating functionality, or fault diagnosis, and a current operating strategy.It is particularly advantageously possible with the method to increase and / or ensure a service life of the cathode gas compressor system if limitations and / or load profiles for the operation of individual cathode gas compressors or other components of the cathode gas compressor system are complied with by adapting the operating mode.Alternatively or additionally, the current operating mode of the method can be selected without current restriction of the operating functionality, for example because of energy optimization, because of start-stop operation, because of exhaust gas recirculation, because of test purposes, because of diagnoses, etc.According to one aspect, it is proposed that the method provides and / or transmits the current operating mode of the cathode gas compressor system for / to a controller of the fuel cell system in an additional step.According to one aspect, it is proposed that the respective cathode gas compressor is controlled into a normal mode, a failure mode and a partial power mode on the basis of the current operating functionality.According to one aspect, it is proposed that the cathode gas compressor system is operated with a single mode if a single cathode gas compressor has the failure mode; and / or wherein the cathode gas compressor system is operated with a first partial mode if a single cathode gas compressor has the partial power mode; and wherein the cathode gas compressor system is operated with a second partial mode if at least two cathode gas compressors have the partial power mode.In other words, when one of the cathode gas compressors is inoperative, the supply of cathode gas by the other cathode gas compressor can be ensured. If necessary, the operation of the active cathode gas compressor must be limited to protect components in the fuel cell system. This is explained in more detail below.According to one aspect, it is proposed that a fuel cell unit which is operated by means of the cathode gas compressor system is operated, on the basis of the current operating mode of the cathode gas compressor system, with a power and / or partial power corresponding to the respective mode of the cathode gas compressor system and / or by means of an additional cathode gas compressor system.According to one aspect, it is proposed that a respective cathode gas compressor bypass of the cathode gas compressor system is switched open for the cathode gas compressor concerned, which has a failure mode. By means of the cathode gas compressor bypass, cathode gas can advantageously be conducted past the cathode gas compressor in question, in order in particular to reduce a minimization of a pressure loss and / or to reduce transverse and axial forces of the inactive or cathode gas compressor in question.A multistage cathode gas compressor system is proposed, having a first electrically operated cathode gas compressor; and a second electrically operated cathode gas compressor; and a compressor control unit for controlling and / or regulating and monitoring the cathode gas compressor system. The compressor control unit is signal-coupled to the first electrically operated cathode gas compressor and the second electrically operated cathode gas compressor; and the compressor control unit is configured to carry out one of the methods described above.According to one aspect, it is proposed that the cathode gas compressor system additionally has a cathode gas compressor bypass, wherein the compressor control unit is coupled signal-wise to the cathode gas compressor bypass. In this case, the cathode gas compressor bypass is configured to conduct a cathode gas in the multistage cathode gas compressor system past the first electrically operated cathode gas compressor and / or the second electrically operated cathode gas compressor in accordance with one of the methods described above, based on a signal from the compressor control unit.A fuel cell system including one of the multistage cathode gas compressor systems described above and a fuel cell unit operatively coupled to the cathode gas compressor system is proposed. Here, the fuel cell unit includes a fuel cell control unit for controlling the fuel cell unit. A compressor control unit of the multistage cathode gas compressor system is signal-coupled to the fuel cell control unit of the fuel cell unit, and the compressor control unit is configured to execute one of the methods described above.According to one aspect, it is proposed that the fuel cell control unit of the fuel cell system described above is coupled signal-wise to the compressor control unit. In this case, the current operating mode of the cathode gas compressor system is provided by the compressor control unit of the fuel cell control unit. In this case, the fuel cell control unit is configured to operate the fuel cell unit, based on the current operating mode of the cathode gas compressor system, with a power and / or partial power corresponding to the respective operating mode of the cathode gas compressor system. Alternatively or additionally, the fuel cell control unit is configured to operate the fuel cell unit by means of an additional cathode gas compressor system configured to be selectively coupled to the fuel cell system.Exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The following shows: FIG. 1 shows a fuel cell system having a first electrically operated cathode gas compressor and a second electrically operated cathode gas compressor; and FIG. 2 schematically outlines a flow chart for determining an operating mode.FIG. 1 schematically outlines a topology of a fuel cell system 300 with a cathode gas compressor system 100 and a fuel cell unit 200. In this case, only a supply and / or disposal of cathode gas is outlined with respect to the fuel cell system 300. In particular, anode gas supply and cooling circuits are not shown for better clarity.The fuel cell unit 200 may include a first fuel cell stack 210 and a second fuel cell stack 220. Cathode gas inlets of the two fuel cell stacks 210, 220 can be supplied with cathode gas via a respective controllable metering valve 212, 222, wherein the metering valves 212, 222 are coupled, via an optional intercooler 230, to a cathode gas inlet connection 201 of the fuel cell unit 200. Cathode gas outputs of the two fuel cell stacks 210, 220 can be coupled via a controllable output valve 214, 224 to a cathode gas output connection 202 of the fuel cell unit 200. Assemblies of the fuel cell unit 200 may be controlled by a control unit 290.The cathode gas compressor system 100 may include a first electrically operated cathode gas compressor 110 and a second electrically operated cathode gas compressor 120. The respective electrically operated cathode gas compressor 110, 120 may include a compressor unit 111, 121 and a turbine 113, 123 coupled to the compressor unit and may be operated with an electric motor 112, 122 via a power supply through an inverter 114, 124. In this case, the respective turbine 113, 123 can be operated by means of a cathode exhaust gas.The cathode gas may be supplied from an environment 101 to the first cathode gas compressor 110 via an air filter 102 to compress and / or accelerate the air. The air compressed by the first cathode gas compressor 110 may be supplied to the second cathode gas compressor 120 via a first cooler 119 in order to further compress and / or accelerate the air. The air compressed by the second cathode gas compressor 120 may be provided to the cathode gas inlet of the fuel cell unit 200 via a second cooler 129.Additionally or alternatively, the first electrically operated cathode gas compressor 110 can be configured to direct the cathode gas past the first electrically operated cathode gas compressor 110 by means of a first bypass path and a first bypass valve 115. Additionally or alternatively, the second electrically operated cathode gas compressor 120 may be configured to be directed the cathode gas past the second electrically operated cathode gas compressor 110 by means of a second bypass path and a second bypass valve 125.Cathode exhaust gas which the fuel cell unit 200 provides at the cathode gas outlet port 202 can be supplied via a respective fluidic coupling to the optional second cooler 129 and further to a second turbine 123 of the second electrically operated cathode gas compressor 120. Via a respective fluidic coupling, the cathode exhaust gas may be further supplied via the optional first cooler 119 to a first turbine 113 of the first electrically operated cathode gas compressor 110 before the cathode exhaust gas is expelled into the environment 101. Alternatively or additionally, the cathode exhaust gas can be led by the second turbine 123 by means of a second exhaust gas bypass path and a second exhaust gas bypass valve 126, and / or by means of a first exhaust gas bypass path and a first exhaust gas bypass valve 116 can be led by the first turbine 113 and fed to the environment 101. Alternatively or additionally, a portion of the cathode exhaust gas can be conducted by means of a fluid connection and a feed valve 132 into the supply air path, upstream of the second electrically operated cathode gas compressor (so-called exhaust gas recirculation). Anode gas from a purge valve may be supplied to the cathode exhaust gas downstream of the second turbine 113 via a port 103. Aggregates of the cathode gas compressor system 100 can be controlled with a control unit 190 of the cathode gas compressor system 100. In particular, the control unit 190 of the cathode gas compressor system 100 may be signally coupled to the control unit 290 of the fuel cell unit 200.FIG. 2 schematically outlines with a flow chart 400 a method for controlling a multistage cathode gas compressor system for a fuel cell system 300, wherein the cathode gas compressor system 100 comprises a first electrically operated cathode gas compressor 110 and a second electrically operated cathode gas compressor 120.In a further step 401, operating modes for the cathode gas compressor system 100 may be provided with at least two cathode gas compressors 110, 120, and a selected operating mode may be selected and / or activated in step 402.In step 411, criteria for monitoring a respective current operating functionality of the at least two cathode gas compressors 110, 120 may be provided.In a further step 403, a respective operating functionality of the at least two cathode gas compressors 110, 120 can be determined on the basis of the criteria for monitoring. In a further step 408, a change and / or adaptation of a current operating mode of the cathode gas compressor system 100 can be carried out on the basis of the respective operating functionality of the at least two cathode gas compressors 110, 120.Alternatively, the current operating mode can be selected without current restriction of the operating functionality of both cathode gas compressors of the at least two cathode gas compressors 110, 120, without this selection being based on a current restriction of the operating functionality of one or both cathode gas compressors, wherein in step 402 athe first cathode gas compressor 110 is switched off; and in step 402 c the second cathode gas compressor 120 is switched off; and in step 402 b the two cathode gas compressors 110, 120 are operated.Such a selected operating mode can be used or executed for energy optimization and / or for a start-stop operation and / or for exhaust gas recirculation and / or for test purposes and / or for diagnoses.The criteria for monitoring the respective current operating functionality of the at least two cathode gas compressors 110, 120 may comprise stored load profiles, stored analysis results, stored measurement data, environment data and / or evaluation data from tests and diagnoses, in order in particular to identify fault cases during operation of the multistage cathode gas compressor system 100.The respective current operating functionality of the at least two cathode gas compressors 110, 120 can be based on the criteria for monitoring by activating and / or carrying out diagnoses, plausibility checking, monitoring functions 404, 406 and / or tests 405, 407 for the respective electrically operated cathode gas compressors 110, 120 for the first and / or the second electrically operated cathode gas compressor 110, 120.These monitoring functions can be carried out permanently and / or temporarily and / or periodically and / or situatively. By means of test functions, such as, for example, a lowering or an increase of the starting current of the respective cathode gas compressor 110, 120, mechanical friction for breaking the rotor loose can be determined.By means of the monitoring functions and / or tests, the respective current operating functionality of the respective cathode gas compressor 110, 120 can be determined in order to decide whether a malfunction and / or a fault pattern is present in order to adapt the current operating mode, if appropriate, to a normal mode in which both cathode gas compressors are fully functional, a failure mode in which at least one cathode gas compressor 110, 120 is not functional, or a partial power mode in which at least one cathode gas compressor 110, 120 can only be operated at partial power.In order to adapt and / or change the current operating mode of the cathode gas compressor system 100 based on the respective operating functionality of the at least two cathode gas compressors 110, 120, it can be determined in method step 416 whether a malfunction of the first electrically operated cathode gas compressor 110 exists and / or in method step 426 whether a malfunction of the second electrically operated cathode gas compressor 120 exists.If no malfunction occurs in any of the cathode gas compressors 110, 120, so that both cathode gas compressors 110, 120 are operational, an operating mode is selected in which both cathode gas compressors 110, 120 are operated 439.In method step 430, a limitation of the operation of the first cathode gas compressor 110 and / or of the second cathode gas compressor 120 may additionally be determined, which is respectively due either to a design limitation or a limitation corresponding to a design of the system, or a respective limitation which is due to the respective current operating functionality of the first cathode gas compressor 431 or of the second cathode gas compressor 432, based on the criteria for monitoring. For example, a limitation may be necessary when cooling of one of the cathode gas compressors 110, 120 cannot be sufficiently ensured. That is, such limitations may be adaptive and / or state dependent to the operation of the fuel cell system 300 and individually set.If both cathode gas compressors 110, 120 fail, i.e. the fuel cell units 200 supplied by this air system can no longer be supplied with air, then measures for a higher-order system level of the fuel cell system 300 can be triggered in step 450, which measures are dependent on a present topology of the fuel cell system 300. For example, a change in power split between an electric battery and the fuel cell units 200 may be initiated to draw electrical energy from the battery unless all requested fuel cell units 200 are available. Alternatively or additionally, a power split between the individual fuel cell stacks 210, 220 can be changed if, for example, a fuel cell unit 200 has to be shut down because of a lack of air supply. The fuel cell units 200 which are operated further can then be operated, for example, with a higher load.Alternatively or additionally, cathode gas may be transferred from another cathode gas compressor system to a present cathode gas compressor system 100, provided that corresponding fluid couplings of the systems are provided.Furthermore, a switchover to a limp home function and / or information to a service or a workshop can take place. If necessary, further measures can be carried out in the cathode gas compressor system 100 by electrically heating an affected cathode gas compressor 110, 120, for example, in order to defrost the respective cathode gas compressor 110, 120.If a restricted current operating functionality of the first or of the second cathode gas compressor 110, 120 is determined based on the criteria for monitoring and / or by means of the monitoring functions, the current operating mode of the cathode gas compressor system 100 can be switched over in such a way that an exclusive operation of the respective other cathode gas compressor 110, 120, i.e. to the first cathode gas compressor 419 or the second cathode gas compressor 429, is switched over.After such a changeover, the operating mode is continued with one cathode gas compressor 110, 120 of the two cathode gas compressors 110, 120 until the respective current operating functionality is determined differently and / or another operating mode is requested or selected. The determination of the respective current operating functionality is continued, in particular periodically and / or depending on the situation and / or continuously, so that a different operating mode can be selected in the event of a change in the operating functionality. For example, a blockage of an inactive cathode gas compressor 110, 120 may be canceled after thawing and / or releasing a blocked rotor of the inactive cathode gas compressor 110, 120, such that the cathode gas compressor system 100 may continue to be operated in the normal mode.If the cathode gas compressor system 100 is operated with only one cathode gas compressor 110, 120, the operation of this active cathode gas compressor 110, 120 may be limited 411, 421 in order to protect components in the cathode gas compressor system 100 and / or in the fuel cell unit 200 from overloading and / or incorrect loading. For example, transverse and axial forces should not be exceeded when the cathode gas compressor 110, 120 is inactive / stationary, or the pumping and plugging limit of the cathode gas compressor 110, 120 should be maintained.It follows from this limitation 411, 421, depending on the respective cathode gas compressor 110, 120 concerned, that the cathode gas and a pressure level for the fuel cell unit 200 cannot be provided to the same extent as in the case of an intact cathode gas compressor system 100. Therefore, limitations for the higher-order control levels can also be set 451, 452. This may relate, for example, to water management of the fuel cell unit 200.Further, a turbine bypass 116, 126 may be opened 413, 423 for the inactive cathode gas compressor 110, 120 to direct cathode exhaust gas past the respective inactive cathode gas compressor 110, 120 coupled to the turbine 113, 123. This can reduce pressure losses due to the stationary turbine 113, 123 and also reduce transverse and axial forces when the cathode gas compressor 110, 120 is stationary or inactive.If the multistage cathode gas compressor system 100 has a cathode gas compressor bypass 115, 125 at the respective cathode gas compressor 110, 120, the associated cathode gas compressor bypass 115, 125 can be opened 412, 422 in the inactive cathode gas compressor 110, 120.The described methods can be used in vehicles of different vehicle classes, such as on-road, off-road, commercial vehicles or buses, with fuel cell systems, in particular in CV applications which can use highly performance and H2 consumption-optimized systems.

Claims

A method (400) of controlling a multistage cathode gas compressor system (100) for a fuel cell system (300), the cathode gas compressor system (100) comprising a first electrically operated cathode gas compressor (110) and a second electrically operated cathode gas compressor (120), comprising: providing criteria for monitoring (411) a respective current operating functionality of the at least two cathode gas compressors (110, 120); providing operating modes (401) for the cathode gas compressor system comprising at least two cathode gas compressors (110, 120); determining the respective current operating functionality (403) of the at least two cathode gas compressors (110, 120) based on the criteria for monitoring; and adapting the current operating mode ( 408) of the cathode gas compressor system ( 100) on the basis of the respective operating functionality of the at least two cathode gas compressors ( 110, 120).Method according to claim 1, comprising: providing and / or transmitting the current operating mode of the cathode gas compressor system to / to a controller of the fuel cell system (300) for controlling the fuel cell system (300).The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the respective cathode gas compressor (110, 120) is controlled to a normal mode, a failure mode, and a partial power mode based on the determined current operating functionality.The method of any preceding claim, wherein the cathode gas compressor system (100) is operated with a single mode when a single cathode gas compressor (110, 120) has the failure mode; and / or wherein the cathode gas compressor system (100) is operated with a first partial mode when a single cathode gas compressor (110, 120) has the partial power mode; and wherein the cathode gas compressor system (100) is operated with a second partial mode when at least two cathode gas compressors (110, 120) have the partial power mode.Method according to Claims 2 to 4, wherein a fuel cell unit (200) which is operated by means of the cathode gas compressor system (100) is operated, based on the current operating mode of the cathode gas compressor system, with a power and / or partial power corresponding to the respective mode of the cathode gas compressor system (100) and / or by means of an additional cathode gas compressor system.Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a respective cathode gas compressor bypass (115, 125) of the cathode gas compressor system (100) is switched open for the cathode gas compressor (110, 120) concerned, which has a failure mode.A multi-stage cathode gas compressor system (100) comprising: a first electrically operated cathode gas compressor (110); a second electrically operated cathode gas compressor (120); and a compressor control unit (190) for controlling and / or regulating and monitoring the cathode gas compressor system (100); wherein the compressor control unit (190) is signally coupled to the first electrically operated cathode gas compressor (110) and the second electrically operated cathode gas compressor (120); and wherein the compressor control unit (190) is configured to perform any of the methods according to claims 1 to 5.The multistage cathode gas compressor system (100) according to claim 7, comprising a cathode gas compressor bypass (115, 125); wherein the compressor control unit (190) is signal-coupled to the cathode gas compressor bypass (115, 125); and wherein the cathode gas compressor bypass (115, 125) is configured to direct a cathode gas in the multistage cathode gas compressor system (100) past the first electrically operated cathode gas compressor (110) and / or the second electrically operated cathode gas compressor (120) according to a method according to claim 5, based on a signal of the compressor control unit (190).A fuel cell system (300) comprising: a multistage cathode gas compressor system (100) according to claim 7 or claim 8, a fuel cell unit (200) operatively coupled to the cathode gas compressor system; and wherein the fuel cell unit (200) comprises a fuel cell control unit (290) for controlling the fuel cell unit (200); and wherein a compressor control unit (190) of the multistage cathode gas compressor system (100) is signally coupled to the fuel cell control unit (290) of the fuel cell unit (200); and wherein the compressor control unit (190) is configured to perform any one of the methods according to claims 1 to 6.Fuel cell system (300) according to Claim 9, wherein the fuel cell control unit (290) is coupled in terms of signals to the compressor control unit (190); and wherein the current operating mode of the cathode gas compressor system (100) is provided by the compressor control unit (190) of the fuel cell control unit (290); and wherein the fuel cell control unit (290) is configured to operate the fuel cell unit (200), based on the current operating mode of the cathode gas compressor system (100), with a power and / or partial power corresponding to the respective operating mode of the cathode gas compressor system (100); and / or to operate the fuel cell unit (200) by means of an additional cathode gas compressor system which is configured to be coupled selectively to the fuel cell system (300).

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