THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP KEY AIR MANAGEMENT COMPONENTS TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY AND DURABILITY AND REDUCE COST OF FUEL CELL (FC) AIR MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS TO ACHIEVE DOE’S 2030 TARGETS FOR MARKET-VIABLE HEAVY-DUTY (HD) FC APPLICATIONS. THE OUTCOME OF THIS PROJECT WILL BE A DEMONSTRATION OF A VIABLE, INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO AIR MANAGEMENT COMPONENT DEVELOPMENT AND SYSTEM INTEGRATION AND CONTROL THAT 1) ENABLES THE AIR MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TO ACHIEVE PROJECT TARGETS AND 2) CONTRIBUTES TO OTHER FC COMPONENTS, ESPECIALLY THE FUEL CELL STACK ITSELF, TO ACHIEVE DOE’S 2030 TARGETS FOR OVERALL HD FC SYSTEM DURABILITY. THE PROJECT IS DIVIDED INTO TWO BUDGET PERIODS: A 12-MONTH BUDGET PERIOD 1 AND AN 18-MONTH BUDGET PERIOD 2. THE OBJECTIVES OF BUDGET PERIOD 1 ARE TO 1) ESTABLISH A FC SYSTEM MODEL THAT CAPTURES THE INTERDEPENDENCIES OF THE COMPONENTS IN THE AIR MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, 2) IDENTIFY OPTIMAL AIR MANAGEMENT COMPONENT SPECIFICATIONS USING THIS MODEL, AND 3) DEMONSTRATE THE ABILITY OF THE PROPOSED INNOVATIVE COMPONENTS TO ACHIEVE DOE’S 2030 TARGETS FOR THE HD FC AIR COMPRESSION SYSTEM THROUGH SIMULATION RESULTS. THE OBJECTIVES OF BUDGET PERIOD 2 ARE TO 1) VALIDATE THAT THE INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS ACHIEVE THEIR INTERMEDIATE TARGETS, AND 2) DEMONSTRATE THROUGH SUBSCALE EXPERIMENTAL UNIT THAT THE FULLY INTEGRATED SYSTEM ACHIEVES DOE’S 2030 TARGETS.