Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Kentaro Nagoshi

Masaru Oda

Keisuke Andou

Hideaki Kikuchi

Masaaki Sakano

Narutoshi Sugita

Masaharu Suzuki

Koichiro Miyata

Naoyuki Enjoji

Takashi Komura

Koichiro Furusawa

Iori Kanamori

Yasuhiro Watanabe

Tadashi Nishiyama

Yuji Matsumoto

Katsumi Hayashi

Toshikatsu Katagiri

Junji Uehara

Masahiro Mohri

Yoichi Asano

Shinya Watanabe

Yasunori Kotani

Nobutaka Nakajima

Daisuke Okonogi

Hiroshi Morikawa

Ryoichiro Takahashi

Nobuki Koiwa

Akiji Ando

Chikara Iwasawa

Yoshihito Kimura

Takashi Yamamoto

Yoshihiro Nakanishi

Kaoru Yamazaki

Toshiki Kawamura

Satoshi Tanimoto

Takashi Kosaka

Go Kikuchi

Yuichiro Kosaka

Takeshi Matsubara

Shinjiro Morita

A management device includes a manager configured to manage power stored in a secondary battery provided to a user for stationary use and execute a power exchange business, the power exchange business being performed by connecting the secondary battery to a power network, and a deriver configured to derive return information for returning part of a profit obtained through the power exchange business to the user.

Management device, management method, and storage medium

A management device includes a manager that is configured to manage information related to a price of securities, which is obtained by securitizing a part of a monetary value of a secondary battery provided to a user, a price assessor that is configured to access the price of the securities, and a provider that is configured to provide the price of the securities assessed by the price assessor.

A fuel cell system calculates amount of fluid discharged from a fuel gas circulation path with water and fuel gas in accordance with an ordinary process map if inside an anode is not scavenged when a fuel cell stops electrochemical reaction; measures amount of water remaining in a fuel gas circulation path in accordance with cumulative electricity output, temperature, or elapsed time after starting the electrochemical reaction if the inside the anode is scavenged previously; and determines whether the inside the fuel gas circulation path is in dry condition or humid condition. The fuel cell system calculates amount of fluid discharged from the fuel gas circulation path with water or the fuel gas in accordance with a map predetermined for the dry condition if the fuel cell system determines that the inside the fuel gas circulation path is in the dry condition. The fuel cell system calculates the amount of the fluid to be discharged with the water or the fuel gas in accordance with the ordinary map if the fuel cell system determines that the inside the fuel gas circulation path is in the humid condition. Accordingly, wasteful discharge of fuel gas can be prevented in a purging operation after starting up the fuel cell system.

Fuel cell system

A method of shutting down a fuel cell system includes a first step of supplying hydrogen gas and air to a fuel cell stack to thereby cause the fuel cell stack to generate electricity, and a second step of stopping supply of the hydrogen gas, and then supplying air to the fuel cell stack so as to cause the fuel cell stack to generate electricity upon detection of a command to shut down the fuel cell stack. In the second step, when the pressure of the hydrogen gas is lowered to a preset lower-limit value based on an anode pressure, which actually is measured, the fuel cell stack is caused to stop generating electricity.

Method of shutting down fuel cell system

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, a fuel gas passage, and an oxidant gas passage. The fuel cell includes a solid polymer membrane, a fuel electrode, and an oxidant electrode. A coolant flows into the fuel cell via a coolant passage to adjust a temperature of the fuel cell. An oxidant gas outlet temperature detector is configured to detect an outlet temperature of an oxidant gas discharged from an outlet of the oxidant gas passage. A coolant temperature detector is configured to detect a temperature of the coolant passing through an inlet or an outlet of the coolant passage. A dry-up controller is configured to decide that the solid polymer membrane is in a dry-up state when a temperature difference between the temperature of the coolant and the outlet temperature of the oxidant gas exceeds a first threshold value.

A fuel cell system for a vehicle includes a fuel cell, a fuel supply device, an oxidizer supply device, an anode potential measuring device, and a discharge controller. The anode potential measuring device is configured to measure an anode potential of an anode. The discharge controller is configured to control discharge of electric current from the fuel cell as part of a process of stopping the fuel cell during idling of the vehicle. When receiving idle stop permission for the fuel cell, the discharge controller determines whether the fuel cell is permitted to discharge. When the anode potential is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value, the discharge controller permits the fuel cell to discharge. When the anode potential is higher than the predetermined threshold value, the discharge controller does not permit the fuel cell to discharge.

Fuel cell system and method for controlling stoppage of fuel cell system

A fuel cell includes a membrane electrode assembly and an anode side metal separator and a cathode side metal separator sandwiching the membrane electrode assembly. An oxygen-containing gas flows in an oxygen-containing gas flow field in a horizontal direction. A coolant flows in a coolant flow field in a vertical direction. The coolant flow field is connected to coolant supply passages and coolant discharge passages. The opening of one of the coolant supply passages and the opening of one of the coolant discharge passages are smaller than those of the other coolant supply passages and the other coolant discharge passages in cross section, respectively. Thus, the flow rate of the coolant supplied to an area near outlets of the oxygen-containing gas flow field and the fuel gas flow field become smaller than the flow rate of the coolant supplied to the other area.

Fuel cell

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack formed by stacking a plurality of power generation cells, and an ejector for supplying a fuel gas to the fuel cell stack. A flow rectifier member is provided at a portion connecting an end plate of the fuel cell stack and the ejector. The flow rectifier member is a cylindrical member. A plurality of openings are formed between partition walls formed in the flow rectifier member.

A power generation cell includes an anode side seal member and a cathode side seal member. The anode side seal member is provided outside an anode of a membrane electrode assembly, and directly contacts a solid polymer electrolyte membrane. The cathode side seal member is provided outside the membrane electrode assembly. A space is formed between the anode side seal member and the cathode side seal member. First ribs are formed integrally with the anode side seal member. The first ribs protrude toward the space. Further, second ribs are formed integrally with the cathode side seal member. The second ribs protrude toward the space. The first ribs and the second ribs are arranged alternately.

A fuel cell stack includes unit cells. At one side of the unit cells, an oxygen-containing gas supply passage and a fuel gas discharge passage having different opening areas are provided. At the one side of the unit cells, a recess is provided near the fuel gas discharge passage having a relatively small opening area. A cell voltage terminal is provided in the recess such that the cell voltage terminal does not protrude outwardly from the side of the unit cells.

Fuel cell having separator with cell voltage terminal

A fuel cell separator plate comprising a portion in contact with an electrode, and a sealing portion provided around the contact portion, the contact portion having a larger surface roughness (Rmax) than that of the sealing portion. It is preferably a molded separator plate made of a composite carbon material comprising carbon and a thermosetting resin.

Fuel cell separator plate and method for producing it

A power generation cell includes a membrane electrode assembly, with an anode side metal separator and a cathode side metal separator sandwiching the membrane electrode assembly. Flow field walls are provided within the coolant flow field for preventing coolant from flowing into an area corresponding to an oxygen-containing gas inlet buffer, while allowing the coolant to flow into an area corresponding to an oxygen-containing gas outlet buffer. Likewise, flow field walls contact each other for preventing the coolant from flowing into an area corresponding to a fuel gas inlet buffer, while allowing the fuel gas to flow into an area corresponding to a fuel gas outlet buffer.

Fuel cell having coolant flow field wall

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack formed by stacking a plurality of power generation cells, and an ejector for supplying a fuel gas to the fuel cell stack. A flow rectifier for rectifying the flow of the fuel gas is provided at a portion of an insulating plate of the fuel cell stack connecting the ejector and the fuel gas supply passage. The flow rectifier includes an opening having a laterally elongated shape in correspondence with the bottom of the fuel gas supply passage having a laterally elongated shape, and a plurality of holes provided above the opening.

Anodes are provided on a porous resin film, a polymer electrolyte membrane is provided on the anodes, and cathodes are provided on the polymer electrolyte membrane to form a plurality of membrane electrode assemblies as power generation units. An electrically conductive member is connected to the cathode of a membrane electrode assembly, and a metal film is electrically connected to the anode of an adjacent membrane electrode assembly. The electrically conductive member has an expansion connected to the metal film. The cathode of the membrane electrode assembly and the anode of the adjacent membrane electrode assembly are electrically connected by the electrically conductive member and the metal film.

Fuel cell without Z-like connection plates and the method producing the same

A separator assembly for a fuel cell stack includes a diffusion layer including a porous metal body for diffusing and supplying fuel or oxidizer to an electrode of the fuel cell stack, and a separator including a metal plate which is disposed adjacent to the diffusion layer, and which is provided for separating the fuel and the oxidizer from each other. The diffusion layer and the separator are welded together by laser welding. Flow passage partitions of the metal forming the diffusion layer, which are formed by melting the metal by irradiation by a laser beam and by solidifying the metal, may be formed in the diffusion layer so as to define a flow passage for the fuel or oxidizer in the diffusion layer.

Growing community of inventors

Utsunomiya, Japan

Kentaro Nagoshi