METHOD FOR OPERATING A FUEL CELL SYSTEM, AND FUEL CELL SYSTEM

The invention relates to a method for operating a fuel cell system () having multiple fuel cell stacks () which each have a cathode () and an anode ( ), the cathodes () each being fed with air via a feed air path (), and exhaust air emitted from the fuel cell stacks () being discharged via an exhaust air path (), and the anodes () each being supplied with hydrogen via an anode circuit (). According to the invention, when starting up and/or shutting down the fuel cell system (), the exhaust air emitted from a fuel cell stack () is used for inerting the anode () and/or the cathode () of another fuel cell stack (). The invention also relates to a fuel cell system () for carrying out the method.