*Article* **New Equivalent Electrical Model of a Fuel Cell and Comparative Study of Several Existing Models with Experimental Data from the PEMFC Nexa 1200 W**

**Fatima Zahra Belhaj 1,\*, Hassan El Fadil 1,\*, Zakariae El Idrissi 1,\*, Abdessamad Intidam <sup>1</sup> , Mohamed Koundi <sup>1</sup> and Fouad Giri <sup>2</sup>**


**Abstract:** The present work investigates different models of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. More specifically, three models are studied: a nonlinear state-space model, a generic dynamic model integrated into MATLAB/Simulink, and an equivalent RC electrical circuit. A new equivalent electrical RL model is proposed, and the methodology for determining its parameters is also given. An experimental test bench, based on a 1200-W commercial PEMFC, is built to compare the static and dynamic behaviour of the existing models and the proposed RL model with the experimental data. The comparative analysis highlights the advantages and drawbacks of each of these models. The major advantages of the proposed RL model lie in both its simplicity and its ability to provide a similar transitory behaviour compared to the commercially manufactured PEMFC employed in this research.

**Keywords:** fuel cell; new equivalent electrical model of fuel cell; PEMFC NEXA 1200; comparative study; experimental validation
