Control system for and control method of electric vehicle

Abstract

To make a fuel cell stack reliably discharge at the time of vehicle collision, a control system for an electric vehicle is provided with a fuel cell stack generating electric power by an electrochemical reaction between fuel gas and oxidizing gas and supplying generated electric power to an electric motor for driving the vehicle, a first electrical resistor for discharge electrically connected to the fuel cell stack through an electrically controlled type discharge switch, a discharge control circuit controlling an on/off state of the discharge switch, and a collision detector detecting a vehicle collision and outputting a collision signal to the discharge control circuit. When a collision signal is input to the discharge control circuit, it turns the discharge switch on and electrically connects the fuel cell stack to the first electrical resistor for discharge, to thereby discharge the fuel cell stack. A power supply of the discharge control circuit is comprised of the fuel cell stack.