Nissan Motor Company Limited

Ngk Insulators, Inc.

Other

Saijo Inx Co., Ltd.

Keiko Kushibiki

Masaharu Hatano

Itaru Shibata

Mitsugu Yamanaka

Makoto Uchiyama

Fuminori Satou

Naoki Hara

Tatsuhiro Fukuzawa

Shigeo Ibuka

Masakazu Kobayashi

Yasushi Nakajima

Kenji Furuya

Kazuhiko Shinohara

Makoto Miyoshi

Yuichiro Imanishi

Tatsuya Yaguchi

Tetsuo Watanabe

Dong Song

Hirokazu Komatsu

Kazufumi Takeuchi

Yoshiko Hishitani

Fuminori Sato

Hiromichi Miwa

Tatsuo Sugiyama

Kenji Ohara

Souichi Fujiwara

Noboru Yamauchi

Tatsuya Suzuki

Koji Nakatani

Saburo Suzuki

Katsunori Matsui

Tatsuya c/o Nissan Motor Co Ltd Yaguchi

Shigeo c/o Nissan Motor Co Ltd Ibuka

A solid electrolyte fuel cell system includes a reformer to produce a hydrogen-rich reformed gas from fuel, oxygen and water, and a stack structure including a stack of fuel cell units each receiving supply of the reformed gas and air, and producing electricity. The fuel cell system further includes a reformed gas cooler to cool the reformed gas supplied from the reformer to the stack structure, and a temperature control section to control operation of the reformed gas cooler in accordance with an operating condition such as a request output of the stack structure. The reformed gas cooler includes a device such as a heat exchanger for cooling the reformed gas with a coolant such as air.

Solid electrolyte fuel cell system

For an enhanced rigidity and suppressed occurrences of stress concentration, a solid-electrolyte fuel cell is configured with simplex cells, a metallic separator of a circular thin-sheet form having a gas introducing port and gas discharging ports in the central portion, and cell mounting parts for the simplex cells to be fixed thereto, another metallic separator of a circular thin-sheet form having a gas introducing port and gas discharging ports in the central portion, the separators defining a space in between, and a pair of flow channel members accommodated in the space and pressed to be brought into abutment, for communication of their channels with the gas introducing ports and the gas discharging ports to effect gas supply and gas discharge to and from the space, either flow channel member being joined, within the space, to one separator.

Solid-electrolyte fuel cell and stack structure

A fuel cell apparatus (A) includes a stack structure (B) including a plurality of solid electrolyte cell units () stacked with interspaces separating one another, and a case () enclosing the stack structure (B). The fuel cell apparatus (A) further includes an inlet port () to introduce a reactant gas into the case (), an outlet port () to discharge the reactant gas from the case (), and a gas guide extending from the inlet port () along an outer periphery of the stack structure (B). The gas guide may include at least one guide member (), and a heat transfer section.

Fuel cell assembly

A fuel cell includes a stack structure composed of fuel cell units with current collectors between the fuel cell units, a casing housing the stack structure, and a gas flow-regulating member provided in a gap between the casing and the stack structure. The fuel cell unit includes: a cell plate which holds at least one cell and has a gas introduction hole for one of fuel gas and air; and a separator plate which has a gas introduction hole for the one of the fuel gas and the air. The casing introduces the other of the fuel gas and the air via a gas introduction portion and flows the other gas to a gas discharge portion. The gas flow-regulating member guides the other gas to the gas discharge portion through the current collectors.

Fuel cell

A fuel cell system includes: a power generation stack () composed by stacking a plurality of fuel cells (); and a hydrocarbon-oxidizing device () disposed on an upstream side of the power generation stack () in a fuel supply passage (). The hydrocarbon-oxidizing device () directly and electrochemically oxidizes hydrocarbons with a carbon number of 2 or more, which are contained in fuel gas, or decomposes the hydrocarbons and electrochemically oxidizes carbon obtained by decomposing the hydrocarbons.

Fuel cell system and control method thereof

Disclosed is a fuel cell system comprising a reformer and a fuel cell body to which a fuel gas reformed through the reformer and air are supplied and in which the supplied fuel gas and air are separated from each other and caused to flow and contact on respective electrodes to perform electric power generation. A moisture quantity adjustment device is configured to adjustably separate a portion of moisture included in the fuel gas supplied from the reformer in order for the moisture included in the fuel gas to be supplied to the fuel cell body in an appropriate quantity.

Fuel cell system

A solid electrolyte fuel cell plate structure includes a cell element layer composed of a solid electrolyte, an air electrode layer and a fuel electrode layer, a porous base body supporting the cell element layer, and a gas-impermeable member having electric conductivity. The cell element layer is arranged such that the solid electrolyte layer is sandwiched between the air electrode layer and the fuel electrode layer, with the air electrode layer or the fuel electrode layer being joined to the porous base body. The gas-impermeable member is associated with the solid electrolyte layer to allow gas internally passing through the porous base body to be separated from gas flowing outside the porous base body. Such a cell plate structure can be employed in a solid electrolyte fuel cell stack, which in turn can be employed in a solid electrolyte fuel cell electric power generation unit.

Solid oxide electrolyte fuel cell plate structure, stack and electrical power generation unit

A fuel cell (A) includes a cell stack (B) and a casing () for housing the cell stack (B), and is supplied with two reactant gases flowing separately from each other. The cell stack (B) includes a plurality of solid electrolyte fuel cell units () stacked on one another with inter-unit spaces provided therebetween. One of the reactant gases is supplied to the inter-unit spaces and used for power generation. The casing () includes a peripheral wall () surrounding the cell stack (B). The peripheral wall () is provided with at least one gas inlet opening () for introducing the one of the reactant gases into the inter-unit spaces and at least one gas outlet opening () for discharging the introduced reactant gas, wherein total opening width dimension of the gas inlet opening () is greater than total opening width dimension of the gas outlet opening ().

An aspect of the present invention provides a fuel cell that includes, hollow structural bodies each provided with an internal space for reacting a fuel gas and an oxidant gas, each hollow structural body including, a separator having a perimeter wall section that follows along a rim, a cell plate having an electricity-generating cell having its outer perimeter joined to the separator such that a space for a gas to flow through is formed between the separator and the cell plate, a gas supply manifold to supply one of the reactant gases, a gas discharge manifold to discharge the reactant gas, and a gas introducing flow passage to introduce said reactant gas from the gas supply manifold to the perimeter wall section of the separator, wherein the reactant gas introduced into the gas introducing passage flows from the vicinity of the perimeter wall section of the separator to the gas discharge manifold.

Solid oxide fuel cells each include a circular cell plate holding single cells as a solid oxide fuel cells and having a gas introducing opening and a gas exhausting opening in a central section. A circular separator plate has a gas introducing opening and a gas exhausting opening in a central section. Sealing members allow the gas intruding openings of the cell plate and the separator plate to airtightly communicate with each other and allow the gas exhausting openings of the cell plate and the separator plate to airtightly communicate with each other.

Fuel cell stack structure

A fuel cell stack structure and a method of starting up the fuel cell stack structure are disclosed. The fuel cell stack structure includes a stack of a plurality of solid electrolyte fuel cells, each equipped with a solid electrolyte simplex cell accommodated in a cell space surrounded by a metallic thin plate-like separator and having one surface exposed to the outside, and a gas flow channel formed in and extending through the solid electrolyte fuel cells to supply gas to the respective cell space areas of the solid electrolyte fuel cells, wherein an area with high-heat capacity is preferentially supplied with and heated by high temperature gas at the stage of increasing temperatures of the plurality of solid electrolyte fuel cells during startup thereof.

Startup method for fuel cell stack structure, temperature control method for fuel cell stack structure, and fuel cell stack structure

A thermal insulating container () of the present invention includes a container body () formed of an inner container shell () for housing a heat generation unit (H), and of an outer container shell () for covering the inner container shell (), and a vacuum layer () located between the inner container shell () and the outer container shell (). Further, the thermal insulating container () is characterized in that the heat generation unit-side surface of the inner container shell () is covered with a thermal insulator (). In the thermal insulating container (), the thermal insulator () is provided between the inner container shell () and the heat generation unit (), and the temperature rise of the inner container shell () is gas permeation through the inner container shell () is restricted.

Thermal insulating container for a heat generating unit of a fuel cell system

A fuel cell comprises: a cell plate (A,B); an electroconductive gas separator (A;B) which cooperates with the cell plate, to form a gas passage; and a holder member (A;B) which holds a part of the cell plate. The cell plate includes a supporting body (A;B), and a cell (A;B) formed on the supporting body. The cell includes a solid electrolyte (), a cathode substance layer () formed on one surface of the solid electrolyte, and an anode substance layer () formed on the other surface of the solid electrolyte.

A single cell for a solid oxide fuel cell, in which a solid electrolyte layer is sandwiched by an upper electrode layer and a lower electrode layer. This single cell includes a substrate having openings and an insulating and stress absorbing layer stacked on an upper surface of this substrate. The solid electrolyte layer is formed on an upper surface of the insulating and stress absorbing layer so as to cover the openings, the upper electrode layer is stacked on an upper surface of the solid electrolyte layer, and the lower electrode layer is coated on a lower surface of the solid electrolyte layer via the openings from a lower surface of the substrate. A cell plate, in which these single cells are disposed two-dimensionally on a common substrate. Furthermore, a solid oxide fuel cell, in which these cell plates and plate-shaped separators including gas passages on both surfaces thereof are alternately stacked.

Single cell for fuel cell and solid oxide fuel cell

The disclosure relates to a fuel cell including a solid electrolyte layer disposed on a separator plate. Another separator plate positioned adjacent the separator plate mounting the solid electrolyte layer are joined to a surface of the first separator plate to form an electrode separator assembly having a chamber between the joined separator plates. Working fluids may be supplied to or exhausted from the chamber through openings in fluid communication. A porous support member may be positioned within the chamber. The first separator plate and the porous support member may include a multiplicity of ribs defining channels in fluid communication with the chamber.

Growing community of inventors

Fujisawa, Japan

Keiko Kushibiki