Patent ID: 7862946

Claim:
A fuel cell power system for adjusting an amount of power supplied to at least one parasitic load, said at least one parasitic load comprising at least one first electrical terminal and at least one second electrical terminal for receiving power, said fuel cell power system comprising: a parasitic fuel cell stack comprising a first plurality of fuel cells; a primary fuel cell stack comprising a second plurality of fuel cells, said primary fuel cell stack being operable for powering an external load, said primary fuel cell stack having operating characteristics that predictably change as the operating requirements of said external load vary; a common electrical connection between a first terminal of said parasitic fuel cell stack and a first terminal of same electrical potential of said primary fuel cell stack; an electrical connection from a second terminal of said parasitic fuel cell stack to said at least one first electrical terminal of said at least one parasitic load; and an electrical connection from a second terminal of said primary fuel cell stack to said at least one second electrical terminal of said at least one parasitic load, whereby operating characteristics of said primary fuel cell stack produce an external load-following variation in power supplied to said parasitic load as operating requirements of said external load vary.