The energy industry has been forced to target zero carbon emissions due to increasing global energy demand and environmental problems caused by the depletion of fossil fuel resources. Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) are one of the clean energy and strategic options for the future because of their low operating temperature, flexible design, and high energy density. However, because of activation, ohmic, and concentration losses resulting from the electrochemical reactions in its stacks, PEMFC displays a non-linear output characteristic. Moreover, due to its sensitivity to load changes, it becomes even more difficult to achieve reliable voltage regulation that meets industry standards. In this study, the performance of two different control architectures (Classic Proportional-Integral (PI) and Type-2 Fuzzy Logic (T2FLC)) developed to regulate the output voltage of a PEMFC stack operating under dynamic load conditions to a 96-volt reference value via a DC-DC Boost Converter using MATLAB/Simulink is compared. In contrast to previous research, this paper proposes a Gain Scheduling approach to improve the transient reaction speed of intelligent controllers while removing the oscillation problem that occurs in the steady-state area and reduces power quality. This method dynamically optimizes the controller gains while continuously monitoring the amount of the error signal in the produced system. The simulation findings show that although Type-2 Fuzzy Controllers with Footprint of Uncertainty (FOU) structure performed better against noise, the fixed gain PI controller failed at different operating points. In both scenarios, the Gain Scheduling Type-2 Fuzzy Logic structure produced a power flow that minimized steady-state oscillation and mitigated instantaneous power stress, thereby reducing factors that contribute to thermal degradation, by capturing the 96-volt reference value in around 0.3 s. It was successful in controlling the 96-volt target with an average steady-state error of 0.30% during the 0–1 s simulation period and 0.04% during the 0.3–1 s simulation period.
- Open Access
- Article
Design and Performance Analysis of a Type-2 FLC Controller for a Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Powertrain
Author Information
Received: 01 Feb 2026 | Revised: 02 Apr 2026 | Accepted: 09 Apr 2026 | Published: 20 Apr 2026
Abstract
Keywords
fuel cell electric vehicle | PEM fuel cell | DC-DC boost converter | Type-2 fuzzy logic | gain scheduling
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