Patent ID: 8202661

Claim:
A fuel cell system comprising: a fuel cell; a power load controller programmed to detect a change in a load and programmed to control a power output on the fuel cell system based on a power output set point; wherein, when the power load controller determines, based on the detected change in the load that the load drops from a high load to a low load and the ability to ramp to a high target power output is thereafter restored, the controller is programmed to perform a rapid load recovery procedure by controlling the power output of said fuel cell system to increase from a power output corresponding to said low load to said high target power output corresponding to said high load at a first predetermined rate if all of one or more predetermined conditions in the fuel cell system are satisfied, and said controller is programmed to perform a standard load recovery procedure by controlling said power output to increase to the power output corresponding to said high target power output at a second predetermined rate if at least one of said one or more predetermined conditions in the fuel cell system is not satisfied, and wherein the high load is at least 10 kW greater than the low load, the drop from the high load to a low load is over a time period of 10 seconds or less, and said first predetermined rate is greater than said second predetermined rate.