This paper proposes a temperature controller for PEM fuel cell systems with an air blower as thermal
circuit. The objective of this controller is to maintain the stack temperature over a given set-point which
is obtained from the results of a real-time optimization algorithm with the goal of minimizing the stack
degradation and maximizing the global efficiency. An Explicit MPC is proposed to deal with this control
problem which presents delays, the critical sampling time, constraints and disturbances. The simulation
results show good performance of the controller which accurately tracks the temperature reference over
the overall range of operating conditions. Furthermore, the controller is implemented in real-time on a
PEM fuel cell test-bench which is installed in the Fuel Cell Laboratory at the University of Seville