International Fuel Cells, LLC

Utc Fuel Cells, LLC

Utc Power Corporation

Doosan Fuel Cell America, Inc.

Audi Ag

Michael E Gorman

Richard D Breault

Paul R Margiott

Sudhangshu Bose

Carl Rohrbach, Jr

Albert P Grasso

David A Condit

Carl Anthony Reiser

John C Trocciola

Leslie L Van Dine

Sitaram Ramaswamy

Donald L Maricle

Ronald G Martin

Daniel W Beal

John Donahue

Bryan L Murach

An exemplary method of providing an electrolyte for a fuel cell comprises including a electrolyte precursor within a fuel cell. An electrolyte is generated within the fuel cell from the precursor. An exemplary fuel cell system includes a cell stack assembly. A manifold is associated with the cell stack assembly. An electrolyte precursor is within at least one of the cell stack assembly or manifold for generating an electrolyte within a fuel cell.

Electrolyte generation within a fuel cell

A method for operating a fuel cell power plant to provide end-use electricity, end-use heat and end-use reformate includes the steps of providing a fuel cell power plant that consumes reformate to provide electricity and heat, said fuel cell power plant having a nominal reformate flow rate and including a fuel processor system for generating reformate from a hydrocarbon fuel; operating the fuel processor system so as to provide a reformate flow at a rate greater than the nominal reformate flow rate; operating the fuel cell power plant using a first portion of the reformate flow to generate the electricity and the heat, the first portion being less than or equal to the nominal reformate flow rate; and providing a second portion of the reformate flow as the end-use reformate.

Fuel cell power plant used as reformate generator

A water transport plate is provided with optimized physical characteristics to greatly improve fuel cell operation. In a preferred method of manufacturing, graphite powder, reinforcing fibers, cellulosic fibers, and a thermosetting resin are mixed with a liquid to form a slurry and showered onto a screen to form a planar sheet which is dried to form paper. The paper is cut into the desired size and is laid-up. The lay-up is laminated with pressure and heat, carbonized, and graphitized to form a water transport plate for later machining as desired. The finished water transport plate exhibits optimal physical characteristics for bubble pressure, water permeability, median pore size, porosity, thru-plane resistivity and compressive yield strength.

Method of using a water transport plate

A direct antifreeze cooled fuel cell is disclosed for producing electrical energy from reducing and process oxidant fluid streams that includes an electrolyte secured between an anode catalyst and a cathode catalyst; a porous anode substrate secured in direct fluid communication with and supporting the anode catalyst; a porous wetproofed cathode substrate secured in direct fluid communication with and supporting the cathode catalyst; a porous water transport or cooler plate secured in direct fluid communication with the porous cathode substrate; and, a direct antifreeze solution passing through the porous water transport plate. A preferred direct antifreeze solution passing through the porous water transport plate remains essentially within the water transport plate and does not poison the catalysts.

Direct antifreeze cooled fuel cell

An improved water management system for PEM fuel cells is provided. Catalyst layers are disposed on both sides of a proton exchange membrane. Porous plates are positioned adjacent the catalyst layers. Water transport plates are positioned adjacent the porous plates and the reactant gas are humidified at their inlets, in one embodiment by fins, while moisture is removed in the fuel flow path and at the oxidant outlet, in one embodiment by other fins.

Water management system for fuel cell

A direct antifreeze cooled fuel cell is disclosed for producing electrical energy from reducing and process oxidant fluid streams that includes an electrolyte secured between an anode catalyst and a cathode catalyst; a porous anode substrate secured in direct fluid communication with and supporting the anode catalyst; a porous wet proofed cathode substrate secured in direct fluid communication with and supporting the cathode catalyst; a porous water transport plate secured in direct fluid communication with the porous cathode substrate; and, a direct antifreeze solution passing through the porous water transport plate. In operation of the fuel cell, because product water generated electrochemically at the cathode catalyst flows away from the cathode catalyst into the cathode substrate and into the water transport plate and because the cathode substrate is wetproofed, the antifreeze solution passing through the water transport plate remains essentially within this plate. In a preferred embodiment, the antifreeze solution passing through the water transport plate may be directed to flow at a pressure less than that of the oxidant stream passing adjacent the cathode substrate.

A self-inerting fuel cell system has a membrane/electrode assembly (MEA). A first fine pore plate is positioned at an anode side of the MEA and defines a fuel reactant flow field and a coolant flow field. A second fine pore plate is positioned at a cathode side of the MEA and defines an oxidant reactant flow field and a coolant flow field. A first means drives the fuel reactant flow field; a second means drives the oxidant flow field, and a third means drives the coolant flow field at a pressure less than that of the pressures of the reactant flow fields during on load operation of the fuel cell system. An air valve is coupled to an inlet or exit port of the oxidant flow field. A controller opens the air valve and activates the reactant and coolant flow fields during fuel cell operation, and closes the air valve and de-activates the reactant and coolant flow fields during fuel cell shut down which results in coolant flooding into the reactant flow fields to thereby inert the fuel cell system during shut down.

Self-inerting fuel cell system

A hydrogen-fueled fuel cell reacts residual fuel in the exhaust of the anode flow field either in a catalytic converter or by feeding the anode exhaust into the cathode oxidant stream. Control of flow of anode exhaust into the cathode oxidant stream may be in response to a flammability sensor, a gas composition analyzer, current output, or periodically in response to a timer; the anode exhaust may be fed either upstream or downstream of the cathode air inlet blower.

Purged anode low effluent fuel cell

A fuel cell component that includes a porous fuel cell plate and a solid frame contiguously extending all around the fuel cell plate is made by first forming an integral plate-shaped porous body including a central portion constituting the fuel cell plate and a peripheral portion integral with and circumferentially completely surrounding the central portion, and then impregnating the pores of only the peripheral portion with a quantity of initially flowable but solidifiable impregnating material such that the impregnating material is accommodated in and completely fills such pores and makes the peripheral portion solid and completely fluid-impermeable upon solidification of the impregnating material to constitute the frame.

Plate-shaped fuel cell component

An electrolyte reservoir plate is formed in a papermaking process. Graphite powder, reinforcing fibers, cellulosic fibers, and a thermosetting resin are mixed with a liquid to form a slurry and showered onto a screen to form a planar sheet which is dried to form paper. The paper is cut into the desired size and is lay-up with main sheets 4 and edge strips 6. The lay-up is laminated with pressure and heat, carbonized, and graphitized to form an electrolyte reservoir plate.

Laminated electrolyte reservoir plate

Method for forming a laminated electrolyte reservoir plate

A porous substrate of a fuel cell electrode assembly is formed by producing a fibrous carbon precursor web by means of a conventional wet paper-making process. The precursor web is then dried and saturated with a wet resinous binder which will carbonize when heated. Substantially the entirety of all of the carbon fibers in the web are thus coated with the binder, and substantially all of the inter-fiber junctures in the web will also be coated with the binder. The saturated web is then dried, and heat treated to convert the binder to a glassy carbon which exhibits superior resistance to corrosion.

Growing community of inventors

Glastonbury, CT, United States of America

Michael E Gorman