Patent ID: 8252474

Claim:
A fuel cell system comprising: a fuel cell having a plurality of single cells laminated together, each of the single cells having an anode electrode, a cathode electrode, an electrolyte membrane between the anode electrode and the cathode electrode, a fuel gas flow channel for supplying fuel gas to the anode electrode, and an oxidation gas flow channel for supplying oxidation gas to the cathode electrode; and a controller including an estimating unit, the controller programmed to estimate a residual water content distribution in the fuel gas flow channel in a cell plane of each single cell, wherein the controller is programmed to consider water transfer that occurs between the anode electrode and the cathode electrode via the electrolyte membrane, wherein the controller is programmed to estimate a residual water content distribution of the fuel gas flow channel during a standstill, from a shutdown to a restart of the fuel cell system, based on temperature information on each single cell acquired during the standstill.