Paul Scherrer Institut

Daniel Schmid

Martin Ruge

Felix Buechi

Felix Büchi

A fuel cell stack is disclosed having a number of stacked fuel cells, each having in series an anode-facing end plate, an anode, an ion-exchanging layer, a cathode and a cathode-facing end plate. The stack includes at least one conductive and flexible intermediate layer between elements of the stack. The intermediate layer is deformable implemented in terms of its thickness. The intermediate layer abuts and interacts, in a fluid-tight manner, with the end plates. The intermediate layer is further disposed between at least one of the anode-facing end plate and the cathode-facing end plate of adjacent fuel cells, an end plate of a stack and a cooling plate attached to said end plate and an end plate of the stack and a cathode-facing end plate.

Method and device for stacking fuel cells

A fuel cell has an electrochemical process area having a cathode area, an anode area and an ion-exchanging membrane that separates these areas. The cathode area has a gas passage way having a gas inlet, a gas channel and a gas outlet, wherein the gas passage way is for an oxygen-containing gas to flow from the gas inlet through the gas channel to the gas outlet. The fuel cell includes further a humidity transfer area having a dehumidifying zone, a humidifying zone and a humidity transfer membrane that separates these zones. An exhaust channel connects the gas outlet to the dehumidifying zone, and an inlet channel connects the gas inlet to the humidifying zone. Humidity is extracted from the oxygen-containing gas in the dehumidifying zone, and added to the oxygen-containing gas in the humidifying zone via the humidity transfer membrane.

Growing community of inventors

Winterthur, Switzerland

Daniel Schmid