Patent ID: 7972735

Claim:
A fuel cell system, comprising: a fuel cell having at least one fuel cell unit comprised of a fuel electrode, an oxidizer electrode, and a polymer electrolyte membrane, wherein the fuel electrode and the oxidizer electrode are disposed on opposite sides of the polymer electrolyte membrane; a resistance detector detecting an internal resistance of the fuel cell; a load connection portion having a mechanism operatively, electrically connecting a resistor to the fuel electrode and the oxidizer electrode; and a control unit configured to control the load connection portion, wherein the control unit controls an operation of the load connection portion based on a value of the internal resistance of the fuel cell, which is detected by the resistance detector, to perform an activation treatment of the fuel cell, wherein the control unit has, stored thereon, a calibration curve made based on a correlation between the value of the internal resistance of the fuel cell, and a time period or an amount of charge required for a change in a current flowing through the electrically connected resistor of the load connection portion to reach a saturation point, and wherein the control unit calculates, from the calibration curve, another time period or another amount of charge required for operating the load connection portion, based on the value of the internal resistance of the fuel cell, which is detected by the resistance detector, and wherein the control unit configured to control the operation of the load connection portion based on the calculation from the calibration curve to perform the activation treatment of the fuel cell.