The effect of nitrogen content within the hydrogen fuel supplied to a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) operating in dead-ended anode mode is examined, with a view to using an kammonia decomposition product gas mix (containing 75H(2):25N(2)) as the hydrogen containing fuel. The impact of this impure hydrogen stream, supplied to the anode, was evaluated in terms of mean cell voltage and in relation to actual operating conditions (purge interval, dead-ended interval and fuel cell load). Design of Experiments (DoE) methodology, using multi-linear models, assessed hydrogen utilisation in terms of stack efficiency and identified an effective and viable dead-ended anode purge strategy for this nitrogen-containing hydrogen fuel. (C) 2016 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.