Method for preventing deterioration of fuel cell system of vehicle

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method for preventing degradation of a fuel cell system of a vehicle. A processor device is used to execute the method. The processor device estimates the average power consumed by the vehicle during a predetermined period when the vehicle is stopped, thereby estimating the average power demand at vehicle stop. The idling power extractable from the fuel cell system is determined. The idling power is compared with the estimated average power demand at vehicle stop. Based on the comparison, a duration for which the fuel cell system should be kept operating to meet the estimated average power demand at vehicle stop is determined. The fuel cell system is controlled to be kept operating during the determined duration.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method for preventing degradation of a fuel cell system of a vehicle. The present disclosure also relates to a vehicle including a processor device for performing the above method. The present disclosure further relates to a computer program, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and a control unit configured to execute the above method.

[0002] The teachings of the present disclosure can be applied to large vehicles such as trucks, buses, and construction machinery. Although the focus of the present disclosure will be on large vehicles such as trucks, the general teachings herein are not limited to this particular vehicle and can be implemented in other vehicles such as cars.

Background Art

[0003] In a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), depending on the situation, power may be required from the vehicle even when the vehicle is stationary. Such a requirement can typically be for heating or cooling of the driver's cab while the driver is inside the vehicle, or for operating a power take-off device such as a refrigerator. Another long-term stop scenario can be when the vehicle is used for work operations, for example, at a construction site. For example, the power requirement when the vehicle is stopped can be for operating a power take-off device such as a crane or a concrete mixer.

[0004] FCEVs generally have a fairly small battery. Poor management that is not optimized for long-term stop scenarios can cause multiple startups of the fuel cell system, which deteriorates the soundness of the fuel cell system (if the battery is depleted while meeting the power demand, it is necessary to start the fuel cell system). It is desirable to reduce the risk of degradation of the fuel cell system.

Summary of the Invention

[0005] The object of the present disclosure is to provide a method for at least partially alleviating the above-described problem of degradation. This object and other objects that will become apparent in the following description are achieved by the method according to claim 1. Some non-limiting exemplary embodiments are presented in the dependent claims.

[0006] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method for preventing degradation of a fuel cell system of a vehicle, - estimating the average power that the vehicle will consume during a predetermined period when the vehicle will be stopped, by a processor device of a computing system, thereby estimating the average power demand at vehicle stop; - determining, by the processor device, the idling power extractable from the fuel cell system; - comparing, by the processor device, the idling power with the estimated average power demand at stop; - determining, by the processor device, based on the comparison, the duration for which the fuel cell system should be operated to meet the estimated average power demand at stop; - controlling, by the processor device, to operate the fuel cell system during the determined duration. A method is provided that includes.

[0007] By comparing the idling power with the estimated average power demand at stop of the vehicle, the duration for which the fuel cell system should be operated can be determined, thereby avoiding too-early shutdown and subsequent startup. Therefore, over time, the number of startups can be reduced, and as a result, the risk of degradation of the fuel cell system can also be reduced.

[0008] Similar to an internal combustion engine configured to provide idling power when the engine is running, the fuel cell system of an FCEV also has idling power, and thus this idling power can be regarded as the minimum power in the operating state of the fuel cell system.

[0009] As will be described in more detail below, in some exemplary embodiments, an FCEV may be provided with a battery that can be charged by the power provided by the fuel cell system. However, in other exemplary embodiments, an FCEV does not have a battery that can be charged by the fuel cell system. In the latter case, the estimated average power demand at stop should be higher than the idling power provided by the fuel cell system. In other words, the estimated average power that the vehicle will consume during the above-mentioned predetermined period when the vehicle is stopped should be greater than the above-mentioned idling power. Otherwise, when the fuel cell system is operating at idling power, overproduction and waste of power will occur. On the other hand, in the former case, that is, when the battery can be charged by the fuel cell system, if possible, the idling power may be used to charge the battery even though the power demand from the vehicle is lower than the idling power. Therefore, the average power demand at stop (i.e., the demand including charging of the battery) may be higher than the idling power even though the power demand from other vehicle components is low.

[0010] In at least some exemplary embodiments, the predetermined period may be the entire period before the vehicle begins to move again along the ground. For example, in a hoteling scenario where a driver stops the vehicle, sleeps inside the vehicle, and starts the vehicle in the morning to continue driving, the predetermined period may be the entire stay period. Nevertheless, in some exemplary embodiments, it may be advantageous to divide the period of stoppage into two or more predetermined periods. For example, if a large temperature difference is expected during different periods of the stay, for example, if a significant drop in external temperature is expected at night and it affects the power requirement for heating, it may be appropriate to estimate one power consumption for a first period and another power consumption for a second period following the first period. Similar considerations may be made at a work site. The vehicle will be stopped for a long time, but during a first predetermined period, it may be expected that a power take-off device (such as a crane) performs a specific operation that may require a specific amount of power, while for subsequent operations or non-operations during the stoppage, a different power level may be required. Since the vehicle may be provided with various power take-off devices and auxiliary devices that may require power at different times and / or different power levels, the processor device used in this way can appropriately estimate / calculate the average power demand based on various requirements during the predetermined period, that is, the processor device can estimate / calculate the average power demand at the time of the above-mentioned stoppage.

[0011] The predetermined period may be appropriately defined in different ways that can be considered. According to at least some exemplary embodiments, the predetermined period may be defined by a manual input from the driver. For example, the driver may input the number of hours during which the vehicle is expected to be stopped, such as for an overnight stay. However, the predetermined period may also be based on historical events such as machine learning. For example, when a vehicle at a construction site is performing a specific operation such as mixing concrete, the processor device of the vehicle can define the predetermined period based on previous corresponding events.

[0012] As already shown above, it may be advantageous to consider ambient conditions when estimating the average power demand during stop. Also, as described above, different devices are expected to consume different amounts of power, and different devices may be appropriately considered to estimate the average power demand during stop. Taking such factors into account is at least partially reflected in at least one exemplary embodiment, according to which the estimation of the average power demand during stop is - the expected ambient conditions, such as the external temperature, during the above-mentioned predetermined period, - the expected power consumption of the operated auxiliary devices, such as the air conditioning system and the refrigerator, during the above-mentioned predetermined period, - historical data regarding the power consumption of the auxiliary devices, - the expected power consumption of one or more power take-off devices during the above-mentioned predetermined period, - historical data regarding the power consumption of one or more power take-off devices, performed based on one or more of the above.

[0013] According to at least one exemplary embodiment, the vehicle comprises a battery pack having one or more batteries, the battery pack being rechargeable by a fuel cell system, and the method further comprises - determining, by a processor device, the state of charge of the battery pack, wherein determining the duration for which the fuel cell system should be operated to meet the estimated average power demand during stop as described above is also based on the determined state of charge of the battery pack.

[0014] By causing a processor device to determine the state of charge of a battery pack, the processor device can calculate how to use the fuel system. For example, if the fuel cell system can be maintained at an idling power (or higher power) to meet the average power demand at stop while charging the battery pack over a predetermined period, the fuel cell system can advantageously be kept operating throughout the entire predetermined period, thereby avoiding restarting the fuel cell system. However, if the calculation by the processor device reveals that the power supplied by the fuel cell system is too high and the battery pack is not sufficient to store all of that power, the processor device may limit the duration for which the fuel cell system is kept operating.

[0015] According to at least one exemplary embodiment, based on a comparison, - if it is determined that the idling power is lower than the estimated average power demand at stop described above, the method further includes controlling the fuel cell system by the processor device to operate at a power level higher than the idling power to meet the estimated average power demand at stop described above, - if it is determined that the idling power is higher than the estimated average power demand at stop of the vehicle, the method further includes controlling the fuel cell system by the processor device to operate at the idling power to meet the estimated average power demand at stop described above.

[0016] Accordingly, if the processor device discovers that the idling power is insufficient to meet the estimated average power demand at stop, the processor device can control the fuel system to operate at a higher power level so that the average power demand at stop is met. On the other hand, if the idling power is higher than the average power demand at stop, surplus power may be appropriately used to charge the battery pack, as illustrated below. The battery pack can be regarded as a buffer, and the reason that the average power demand is an appropriate measure lies in that buffer. For example, if the power demand for the next 5 minutes is 5 kW and the idling power is 10 kW, the remaining 5 kW can be diverted to the battery pack. Then, in the next 5 minutes, the power demand may rise to 15 kW, but since the average power demand for the 10-minute period is 10 kW, the idling power should still be 10 kW. In that case, the additional 5 kW of power demand in the second half of the 5 minutes will be met by the battery pack that then functions as a buffer.

[0017] According to at least one exemplary embodiment, based on a comparison, if it is determined that the idling power is higher than the estimated average power demand at stop of the vehicle, the method - calculating, by the processor device, an average surplus power, which is the difference between the idling power and the estimated average power demand at stop, - determining, by the processor device, based on the state of charge and capacity of the battery pack, whether the calculated average surplus power for the entire duration of a predetermined period is available for use to charge the battery pack.

[0018] This is advantageous because it allows the fuel cell system to be kept operating and the possibility of its unnecessary restart to be avoided if the state of charge and capacity of the battery pack are such that the battery pack can store surplus power.

[0019] According to at least one exemplary embodiment, if the calculated average surplus power is determined to be available for charging the battery pack over the entire duration of the predetermined period, - when so determined, the method includes controlling, by a processor device, the fuel cell system to operate at idling power while charging the battery pack with the surplus average power to meet the estimated average power demand at vehicle stop. - when determined not to be available, the method includes determining, by a processor device, whether the current state of charge of the battery pack is sufficient to meet the estimated average power demand at vehicle stop over the entire duration of the predetermined period.

[0020] In this case as well, the processor device can advantageously determine to utilize the surplus power by charging the battery pack if the battery pack can store such surplus power. However, if the fuel cell system supplies more power than can be stored by the battery pack, it is necessary to shut down the fuel cell system to avoid waste of energy. Nevertheless, the processor device can calculate, before simply shutting down the fuel cell system, considering the current state of charge, whether the state of charge is sufficient to meet the estimated average power demand or whether the fuel cell system needs to operate over at least a portion of the predetermined period. Thus, the capacity of charge and the current state of charge can, on the one hand, be such that the battery pack cannot store all the surplus power, but on the other hand, at the same time, the state of charge can be too low to meet the average power demand at stop alone.

[0021] According to at least one exemplary embodiment, the current state of charge of the battery pack is - If it is determined that it is sufficient to meet the estimated average power demand at vehicle stop over the entire duration of the above-specified period, the method includes controlling the fuel cell system to be off by the processor device and controlling the battery pack by the processor device to provide the estimated average power demand at stop. - If it is determined that it is insufficient to meet the estimated average power demand at vehicle stop over the entire duration of the above-specified period, the method includes determining by the processor device whether the battery pack can meet the estimated average power demand at stop when the battery pack is fully charged.

[0022] This is advantageous because the processor device can calculate whether the battery pack alone can meet the power demand or whether the battery pack should be assisted by the fuel cell system. For example, if the processor device calculates that a particular higher state of charge is sufficient to meet the power demand, the fuel cell system can be appropriately operated to charge the battery pack to the above-specified particular higher state of charge. In particular, the fuel cell system may be turned off after being appropriately controlled to operate to fully charge the battery pack.

[0023] According to at least one exemplary embodiment, - If it is determined that the battery pack can meet the estimated average power demand at stop when the battery pack is fully charged, the method includes controlling the fuel cell system by the processor device to fully charge the battery pack and then controlling the processor device to shut down the fuel cell system. - Even if the battery pack is fully charged and it is determined that the estimated average power demand at stop cannot be met, the method includes calculating, by the processor device, the period during which the fuel cell system needs to be operated to meet the estimated average power demand at stop and the level to which the battery pack should be charged, and then controlling, by the processor device, the fuel cell system to operate over the calculated period to charge the battery pack to the calculated level, and then controlling, by the processor device, the fuel cell system to shut down.

[0024] Thus, in some cases, the processor device may calculate that even if the battery pack could be charged until full, it is still not sufficient to meet the power demand. In such a case, the processor device may control the fuel cell system to continue charging the battery pack for a sufficient time so that the battery pack can meet the power demand.

[0025] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle is provided that includes a processor device that executes the method of the first aspect (including any exemplary embodiments thereof). The advantages of the vehicle of the second aspect are mostly similar to the advantages of the method of the first aspect (including any exemplary embodiments thereof).

[0026] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program is provided that includes program code for performing the method of the first aspect (including any exemplary embodiments thereof) when executed by a processor device. The advantages of the computer program of the third aspect are mostly similar to the advantages of the method of the first aspect (including any exemplary embodiments thereof).

[0027] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that, when executed by a processor device, causes the processor device to perform the method of the first aspect, including any exemplary embodiments thereof. The advantages of the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of the fourth aspect are substantially similar to those of the method of the first aspect, including any exemplary embodiments thereof.

[0028] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a control unit for preventing deterioration of a fuel cell system of a vehicle, the control unit being configured to perform the method of the first aspect, including any exemplary embodiments thereof. The advantages of the control unit of the fifth aspect are mostly similar to those of the method of the first aspect, including any exemplary embodiments thereof.

[0029] The control unit and / or processor device described herein may include a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a programmable digital signal processor, or another programmable device. The control unit and / or processor device may also include, or instead, an application-specific integrated circuit, a programmable gate array or programmable array logic, a programmable logic device, or a digital signal processor. When the control unit and / or processor device includes a programmable device such as the microprocessor, microcontroller, or programmable digital signal processor described above, the processor may further include computer-executable code for controlling the operation of the programmable device.

[0030] In general, all terms used in the claims shall be construed according to their ordinary meaning in the technical field, unless otherwise clearly defined herein.

[0031] All references to "parts, elements, devices, components, arrangements, devices, means, steps, etc." shall be construed openly as referring to at least one example of parts, elements, devices, components, arrangements, devices, means, steps, etc., unless otherwise specified. The steps of any method disclosed herein need not be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless otherwise specified. Further features of the inventive concept and advantages associated with the inventive concept will become apparent upon consideration of the appended claims and the following description. Those skilled in the art will understand that, without departing from the scope of the inventive concept, different features of the inventive concept can be combined to create embodiments other than those described below.

[0032] With reference to the accompanying drawings, the embodiments of the present invention given by way of example will be described in more detail below.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0033]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0034] Next, the general concept of the present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings showing specific embodiments of the concept of the present invention. However, the concept of the present invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments and aspects described herein. Rather, the embodiments are provided as examples so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it should be understood that the general concept of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein and shown in the drawings. Rather, those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the appended claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the description.

[0035] FIG. 1 shows a vehicle 1 in which the method of the present disclosure can be implemented. In this example, the vehicle 1 is a large vehicle in the form of a tractor unit. The tractor unit can be powered by a fuel cell system. Although the tractor unit is illustrated, it should be understood that the teachings of the present disclosure may also be implemented in other types of vehicles such as buses, construction machines, and passenger cars. The illustrated vehicle 1 includes a cabin 2 in which a driver can operate the vehicle 1. Further, the cabin 2 may be provided with facilities for living, resting, and sleeping when the vehicle 1 is not in operation. For example, a bed may be provided in the cabin 2 so that the driver can take a nap in the cabin 2. Further, the cabin 2 may be provided with power-consuming electrical appliances such as a refrigerator, a microwave oven, a television, and a heating / cooling system. In other exemplary vehicles, other exemplary power take-off devices, such as external devices such as cranes and mixers, may be provided. The devices, electrical appliances, etc. exemplified above may require power even when the vehicle 1 is not traveling along the road, for example, when the driver needs to rest or sleep, or when using an external power take-off device at a work site while the vehicle 1 is stopped. The present disclosure provides a method for reducing the number of repeated restarts of a fuel cell system that has been conventionally performed during such long-term stop opportunities.

[0036] Figure 2 schematically shows method 10 according to at least one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, Figure 2 is a method 10 for preventing degradation of a fuel cell system of a vehicle (such as vehicle 1 in Figure 1), - In step 1, estimating the average power consumption of the vehicle during a predetermined period when the vehicle will be stopped by a processor device of a computing system, thereby estimating the average power demand at vehicle stop; - In step 2, determining, by the processor device, the idling power extractable from the fuel cell system; - In step 3, comparing, by the processor device, the idling power with the estimated average power demand at stop; - In step 4, determining, by the processor device, based on the comparison, the duration for which the fuel cell system should be kept operating to meet the estimated average power demand at stop; - In step 5, controlling, by the processor device, to keep the fuel cell system operating during the determined duration. Method 10 including the above is shown.

[0037] It should be understood that the above steps do not have to be executed in the described order. For example, the idling power determined in step S2 may be available as a value stored in an electronic memory. Thus, the idling power can be determined before, after, or simultaneously with the estimation of the average power demand at stop (step S1) (step S2).

[0038] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the implementation of various exemplary embodiments of the method of the present disclosure. Starting from box 20, box 20 may represent input data, and based on the input data, the average power at stop is estimated at box 22. The input data may be, for example, - Predicted ambient conditions such as external temperature during a predetermined period; - Predicted power consumption of operated auxiliary devices such as an air conditioning system and a refrigerator during a predetermined period. - Historical data regarding the power consumption of the auxiliary device, - The expected power consumption of one or more power take-off devices during a predetermined period, - Historical data regarding the power consumption of one or more power take-off devices, may be one or more of the above.

[0039] In box 22, the processor device of the computing system may estimate the average power demand at vehicle stop by estimating the average power consumed by the vehicle during a predetermined period when the vehicle is stopped. As already explained, the predetermined period may be, for example, the period during which the vehicle is parked, or the period during which the vehicle's devices are used at the work site while the vehicle is stopped.

[0040] The idling power extractable from the fuel cell system is usually predefined and known. The idling power may be stored in an electronic memory by a processor device, for example, and retrieved from that electronic memory. In box 24, the processor device compares the idling power with the average power demand at stop estimated in box 22. Specifically, the processor device determines whether the idling power of the fuel cell system is greater than the average power demand at stop. If the answer is "no", the processor device determines to proceed to box 26. In box 26, the processor device controls the fuel cell system to operate and provide power at a level (greater than the idling power) that meets the estimated average power demand at stop of the vehicle. On the other hand, if the answer is "yes", the processor device proceeds to box 28. Before explaining box 28 in more detail, it suffices to state that it is related to the battery pack that may be installed in the vehicle.

[0041] Accordingly, as described above, the vehicle may include a battery pack having one or more batteries, and the battery pack is chargeable by a fuel cell system. In box 30, the processor device may determine the state of charge of the battery pack and also preferably the capacity of the battery pack. In that case, such battery data may be used as an input by the processor device when determining the period for which the fuel cell system should be operated to meet the estimated average power demand at stop.

[0042] Proceeding to box 28, it is reached when the idling power is higher than the estimated average power demand at stop of the vehicle, where the processor device can control the fuel cell system to operate at the idling power to meet the estimated average power demand at stop. Further, in box 28, the processor device may calculate the average surplus power, which is the difference between the idling power and the estimated average power demand at stop. Based on that calculation and the battery data (state of charge and capacity) input from box 30, the processor device can determine whether the average surplus power over the entire duration of the above-mentioned predetermined period can be used to charge the battery pack. If the response is "yes", the processor device proceeds to box 32. If the response is "no", the processor device proceeds to box 34.

[0043] In box 32, when the processor device determines that the calculated average surplus power can be used to charge the battery pack over the entire duration of the above-mentioned predetermined period, the processor device can control the fuel cell system to operate at the above-mentioned idling power to meet the estimated average power demand at stop while charging the battery pack with the above-mentioned surplus average power.

[0044] In box 34, when the processor device determines that the calculated average surplus power cannot be used to charge the battery pack over the entire duration of the predetermined period, the processor device can determine whether the current charge state of the battery pack is sufficient to meet the estimated average power demand at vehicle stop over the entire duration of the predetermined period. Battery data (charge state and capacity) is input from box 30. In this context, it should be noted that the minimum charge state and power availability of the battery pack may be required for starting the fuel cell system, and this should be properly ensured and taken into account in the calculations performed in box 34. When the processor device determines that the current charge state of the battery pack is sufficient to meet the estimated average power demand at vehicle stop over the entire duration of the above-mentioned predetermined period, the processor device proceeds to box 36. In box 36, the processor device turns off the fuel cell system and controls the battery pack to provide the estimated average power demand at vehicle stop. On the other hand, when the processor device determines that the current charge state of the battery pack is insufficient to meet the estimated average power demand at vehicle stop over the entire duration of the above-mentioned predetermined period, the processor device proceeds to box 38.

[0045] In box 38, the processor device determines whether the battery pack can meet the estimated average power demand at vehicle stop when it is fully charged. If the response is "yes", the procedure proceeds to box 40. If the response is "no", the procedure proceeds to box 42.

[0046] In box 40, the processor device controls the fuel cell system to fully charge the battery pack and then controls to shut down the fuel cell system.

[0047] In box 42, the processor device needs to calculate the period during which the fuel cell system needs to be run and the level to which the battery pack should be charged in order to meet the estimated average power demand at shutdown, and then proceed to box 44, where the processor device controls the fuel cell system to operate over the calculated duration to charge the battery pack to the calculated level and then controls the fuel cell system to shut down.

[0048] FIG. 4 schematically shows a processor device 100 according to at least one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. In other exemplary embodiments, FIG. 4 may alternatively represent a control unit according to the fifth aspect described above.

[0049] Accordingly, FIG. 4 shows the components of the processor device 100 according to the exemplary embodiments described herein from the perspective of several functional units. The processor device 100 may be included in any system and vehicle disclosed herein, as shown in FIG. 1. For example, a processing circuit 110 may be provided using any combination of one or more of a suitable central processing unit (CPU), multiprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor (DSP), etc. that can execute software instructions stored in a computer program product in the form of a storage medium 130. The processing circuit 110 may further be provided as at least one application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or field programmable gate array (FPGA).

[0050] In particular, the processing circuit 110 is configured to cause the processor device 100 to execute a series of operations or steps, such as the methods described in connection with FIG. 2, the exemplary embodiments described throughout this disclosure, and / or the procedures represented by the flowchart of FIG. 3. For example, the storage medium 130 may store a set of operations, and the processing circuit 110 may be configured to obtain the set of operations from the storage medium 130 and cause the processor device 100 to execute the set of operations. The set of operations may be provided as a set of executable instructions. Thus, the processing circuit 110 is thereby configured to execute the exemplary methods disclosed herein.

[0051] The storage medium 130 may also include a persistent storage device. This can be, for example, any single one or combination of magnetic memory, optical memory, solid-state memory, or even remotely attached memory.

[0052] As can be understood from the description so far in this specification, the processor device 100 further includes an interface 120 for communication with at least one external device, such as a battery pack for obtaining battery data such as charge state and / or capacity and / or for controlling power supply from the battery pack, a fuel cell system for controlling power supplied from a fuel cell system, one or more power take-off devices for estimating the power demand of the above power take-off devices, a thermometer for obtaining an external temperature value, etc. Thus, the interface 120 may include one or more transmitters and receivers having analog components and digital components and an appropriate number of wired communication ports or wireless communication ports.

[0053] The processing circuit 110 controls the normal operation of the processor device 100, for example, by transmitting data and control signals to the interface 120 and the storage medium 130, by receiving data and reports from the interface 120, and by retrieving data and instructions from the storage medium 130. Other components and related functions of the processor device 100 are omitted so as not to obscure the concepts presented herein.

[0054] FIG. 5 schematically shows a computer program product 200 according to at least one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. More specifically, FIG. 5 shows a computer-readable storage medium 210 that includes instructions (e.g., program code 220) that, when executed by a processor device, cause the processor device to execute the method illustrated in FIG. 2 and any exemplary embodiments thereof. The computer-readable storage medium 210 and the program code 220 together can form the computer program product 200.

Claims

1. A method (10) for preventing deterioration of a fuel cell system of a vehicle (1), comprising: - estimating an average power that the vehicle will consume during a predetermined period when the vehicle will be stopped, by a processor device (100) of a computing system, thereby estimating an average power demand at vehicle stop (S1); - determining, by the processor device, an idling power extractable from the fuel cell system (S2); - comparing, by the processor device, the idling power with the estimated average power demand at vehicle stop (S3); - determining, by the processor device, a duration for which the fuel cell system should be operated to meet the estimated average power demand at vehicle stop based on the comparison (S4); - controlling, by the processor device, the fuel cell system to be operated during the determined duration (S5). The method as described above.

2. The estimation of the average power demand at vehicle stop is - based on one or more of - expected ambient conditions such as external air temperature during the predetermined period, - expected power consumption of operated auxiliary devices such as an air conditioning system and a refrigerator during the predetermined period, - historical data regarding the power consumption of the auxiliary devices, - expected power consumption of one or more power take-off devices during the predetermined period, - historical data regarding the power consumption of the one or more power take-off devices. The method according to claim 1.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the vehicle (1) comprises a battery pack having one or more batteries, and the battery pack is chargeable by the fuel cell system, and further comprising: - determining, by the processor device, a state of charge of the battery pack (30), wherein the determining of the duration for which the fuel cell system should be operated to meet the estimated average power demand at vehicle stop is also based on the determined state of charge of the battery pack.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein based on the comparison, - When it is determined that the idling power is lower than the estimated average power demand at stop, in order to satisfy the estimated average power demand at stop, the fuel cell system is further controlled by the processor device to operate at a power level higher than the idling power (26). - When it is determined that the idling power is higher than the estimated average power demand at stop of the vehicle, in order to satisfy the estimated average power demand at stop, the method further includes controlling, by the processor device, the fuel cell system to operate at the idling power.

5. The method according to claim 4 when dependent on claim 3, wherein when it is determined based on the comparison that the idling power is higher than the estimated average power demand at stop of the vehicle. - Calculating, by the processor device, an average surplus power (28), wherein the calculating is a difference between the average surplus power, the idling power and the estimated average power demand at stop. - Determining, by the processor device, based on the state of charge and capacity of the battery pack, whether the calculated average surplus power for the entire duration of the predetermined period is available for charging the battery pack. The method further includes.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the calculated average surplus power is for charging the battery pack over the entire duration of the predetermined period. - When it is determined that it can be used, controlling, by the processor device, the fuel cell system to operate at the idling power in order to satisfy the estimated average power demand at stop of the vehicle while charging the battery pack with the surplus average power (32). - When it is determined that it cannot be used, the method includes determining, by the processor device, whether the current state of charge of the battery pack is sufficient to satisfy the estimated average power demand at stop of the vehicle over the entire duration of the predetermined period (34).

7. The method according to claim 3, or the method according to any one of claims 4 to 6 when dependent on claim 3, wherein the current state of charge of the battery pack is. - If it is determined that it is sufficient to meet the estimated average power demand at stop of the vehicle over the entire duration of the predetermined period, the processor device controls the fuel cell system to be turned off and controls the battery pack to provide the estimated average power demand at stop (36), - If it is determined that it is insufficient to meet the estimated average power demand at stop of the vehicle over the entire duration of the predetermined period, the method includes the processor device determining whether the battery pack can meet the estimated average power demand at stop when the battery pack is fully charged (38).

8. The method according to claim 7, - If it is determined that the battery pack can meet the estimated average power demand at stop when the battery pack is fully charged, the processor device controls the fuel cell system to fully charge the battery pack and then controls the processor device to shut down the fuel cell system (40), - If it is determined that the battery pack cannot meet the estimated average power demand at stop even when the battery pack is fully charged, the processor device calculates the period for which the fuel cell system needs to operate to meet the estimated average power demand at stop and the level to which the battery pack should be charged (42), and then the processor device controls the fuel cell system to operate over the calculated duration to charge the battery pack to the calculated level and then controls the processor device to shut down the fuel cell system (44). The method includes that.

9. A vehicle (1) comprising a processor device (100) for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A computer program comprising program code for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 when executed by the processor device.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that, when executed by the processor device, includes instructions that cause the processor device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8. **Claim 12** A control unit for preventing deterioration of a fuel cell system of a vehicle, the control unit being configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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