Fuel-cell based power source having internal series redundancy

A fuel-cell based power source for supplying electrical power to first and second power source terminals, comprising:

• a first plurality, having a value v, of fuel cell stacks, each fuel cell stack for generating electrical power;
• a second plurality, having a value w in the range from 1 to v, of power converters, each power converter comprising input terminals that are operably coupled to at least one of the fuel cell stacks for receiving input electrical power from the fuel cell stack(s), and a positive output terminal and a negative output terminal for providing output electrical power at a predetermined output voltage, the power converter being capable of converting the input electrical power to the output electrical power;
• a third plurality, having a value x in the range from 1 to w, of bypass diodes, each bypass diode comprising a cathode that is operably coupled to the positive output terminal and an anode that is operably coupled to the negative output terminal of each of at least one of the power converters for providing a current path between each power converter's output terminals if the respective power converter is unable to provide output electrical power;
• wherein the second plurality of power converters are connected in series between the first and second power source terminal such that the voltage across the first and second power source terminals is the sum of the voltages at the output terminals of the power converters.