An automotive fuel cell is investigated to define the design boundaries for an automotive hydrogen supply system with regard to anode flooding. The flooding characteristics of the fuel cell anode at various operating conditions (hydrogen flow rate, pressure, temperature, current density) are analyzed by in-situ and ex-situ measurements. Stable operation conditions are identified and a relation to the operating conditions is established. For adequate water removal, a minimum Reynolds number in the gas channels has to be adjusted. Using this information, different hydrogen supply system designs are compared in their compliance with the stability requirements. It is shown that passive hydrogen supply systems do not achieve all fuel cell requirements regarding power density, lifetime and robustness. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.