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This study investigates a system and a method to enhance fuel cell vehicle robustness during vehicle start/stop cycle by mitigating cathode half-cell potential spikes. Multiple dynamic hydrogen reference electrodes were installed in the fuel cell under test to observe changes of anode and cathode half-cell potentials during simulated system startup and shutdown conditions. Multiple reference electrodes were used to measure localized anode and cathode half-cell potentials in an active area. A 1.4-1.8 V half-cell potential spike at the cathode in the startup condition was observed due to a hydrogen/air boundary formed within the anode flow field. Various system solutions have been studied to contain the cathode half-cell potential spikes, such as purging with inert gas, or inserting a shunt resistor as a shorting component between the anode and the cathode. In this study, a method of connecting an electrical load prior to flowing hydrogen fuel to the cell was tested.