Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Toto Ltd.

Panasonic Holdings Corporation

Osamu Sakai

Makoto Uchida

Eiichi Yasumoto

Hisaaki Gyoten

Kunihiro Ukai

Akihiko Yoshida

Yasushi Sugawara

Takashi Kakuwa

Junji Morita

Yoshihiro Hori

Kazuhito Hatoh

Teruhisa Kanbara

Hidenobu Wakita

Junji Niikura

Hideo Ohara

Yukimune Kani

Yasuo Takebe

Hiromi Kita

Masao Yamamoto

Shinya Kosako

Takeshi Yonamine

Hiroki Kusakabe

Kazufumi Nishida

Takayuki Nakaue

Toshihiro Matsumoto

Atsuo Okaichi

Toshiharu Ooe

Tatsuo Fujita

Norihiko Kawabata

Masato Hosaka

Shigenori Onuma

Yukiyoshi Ono

Shinichi Arisaka

Jin Zhang

Tomoya Kamata

Yasushi Kaneko

Taiichiro Sakamoto

Hiroshi Yamaguchi

Satoshi Aoki

Yoichiro Tsuji

Masaki Yamauchi

Noboru Taniguchi

Kenichi Ikeda

Toshiharu Otsuka

Soichi Shibata

Yuuichi Yakumaru

Takayuki Urata

Yasuhiko Itoh

Takahiro Umeda

Hideo Kasahara

Yuichi Mikami

Shigeyuki Unoki

Hiroshi Shirahama

Toru Sukawa

Takashi Sotoku

Toru Tatsumi

Toru Matsunaga

Takao Sato

A compression apparatus includes an electrolyte membrane, an anode provided on a first principal surface of the electrolyte membrane, a cathode provided on a second principal surface of the electrolyte membrane, an anode separator provided on the anode, a cathode separator provided on the cathode, and a voltage applier that applies a voltage between the anode and the cathode. The compression apparatus causes, by using the voltage applier to apply a voltage, protons taken out from a hydrogen-containing gas that is supplied to the anode to move to the cathode via the electrolyte membrane and produces compressed hydrogen. The anode separator has a first flow channel, provided in a principal surface thereof facing away from the anode, through which a cooling fluid flows.

Compression apparatus for hydrogen-containing gas utilizing an anode separator arrangement

An electrochemical hydrogen pump includes at least one hydrogen pump unit including an electrolyte membrane, an anode on one main surface of the electrolyte membrane, a cathode on the other main surface of the electrolyte membrane, an anode separator on the anode, and a cathode separator on the cathode, the at least one hydrogen pump unit transferring, to the cathode, hydrogen supplied to the anode and pressurizing the hydrogen, a first fixing member for preventing movement of the cathode separator in a direction in which the cathode separator is stacked, a first end plate on the anode separator at one end in the stacking direction, a second end plate on the cathode separator at the other end in the stacking direction, and a first gas flow channel through which hydrogen in the cathode is supplied to a first space between the second end plate and the cathode separator.

Electrochemical hydrogen pump

A hydrogen system includes a compressor that includes an electrolyte membrane, an anode on a first primary surface of the electrolyte membrane, a cathode on a second primary surface of the electrolyte membrane, and a voltage applicator that applies a voltage between the anode and the cathode, the compressor producing compressed hydrogen by causing the voltage applicator to apply a voltage between the anode and the cathode to move hydrogen in hydrogen-containing-gas containing steam supplied to the anode to the cathode via the electrolyte membrane; a supply path through which the hydrogen-containing-gas containing steam to be supplied to the anode flows; a cooling mechanism disposed in the supply path; and a heat exchanger disposed in the supply path, the heat exchanger exchanging heat between the hydrogen-containing-gas flowing through the supply path upstream of the cooling mechanism and the hydrogen-containing-gas flowing through the supply path downstream of the cooling mechanism.

Hydrogen system

The compression apparatus includes an electrolyte membrane, an anode on a principal surface of the electrolyte membrane, a cathode on another principal surface of the electrolyte membrane, an anode separator on the anode, a cathode separator on the cathode, and a voltage applicator. Upon the voltage applicator applying the voltage between the anode and the cathode, protons are extracted from an anode fluid fed onto the anode to migrate onto the cathode through the electrolyte membrane and compressed hydrogen is produced. The cathode separator has a first manifold hole and a first O-ring groove surrounding the first manifold hole. The compression apparatus includes a first O-ring held by the first O-ring groove and a face seal disposed on an outer periphery of a region of an anode-side principal surface of the anode separator which faces the anode. The first O-ring is arranged to abut against the anode-side principal surface.

Compression apparatus

A compression apparatus includes a stack of electrochemical cells each including an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte membrane interposed therebetween, a pair of insulating plates disposed at respective ends of the stack in a stacking direction, a pair of end plates disposed on outside surfaces of the respective insulating plates, and a voltage applicator that applies a voltage between the anode and the cathode. The end plate having the cathode gas channel includes a first region that includes an outer peripheral surface of the cathode gas channel and is composed of a first steel material and a second region other than the first region which is composed of a second steel material. The first steel material has higher hydrogen embrittlement resistance than the second steel material, and the second steel material has higher stiffness than the first steel material.

A compression apparatus includes a stack of electrochemical cells each including an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte membrane interposed therebetween, a pair of insulating plates disposed at respective ends of the stack in a stacking direction, a pair of first end plates disposed on outside surfaces of the respective insulating plates, and a voltage applicator that applies a voltage between the anode and the cathode. Upon the voltage applicator applying the voltage, the compression apparatus causes hydrogen included in a hydrogen-containing gas fed to the anode to move to the cathode and produces compressed hydrogen. One of the first end plates have a first channel formed therein, through which the hydrogen-containing gas fed to the anode flows, and a second channel formed therein, through which a heating medium flows. The compression apparatus further includes a heater that heats the heating medium.

A compression apparatus includes an electrolyte membrane, an anode on a principal surface of the electrolyte membrane, a cathode on another principal surface of the electrolyte membrane, an anode separator on the anode, a cathode separator on the cathode, and a voltage applicator. Upon the voltage applicator applying a voltage, protons are extracted from an anode fluid fed to the anode to move to the cathode through the electrolyte membrane and compressed hydrogen is produced. The anode separator has a fluid channel, a manifold hole, and a communicating path which are formed in an anode-side principal surface. The compression apparatus includes a face seal disposed on an outer periphery of a region of the anode-side principal surface of the anode separator which faces the anode. The face seal has a three-layer structure including a metal sheet and a pair of elastic sheets.

A compression apparatus includes an electrolyte membrane, an anode on a principal surface of the electrolyte membrane, a cathode on another principal surface of the electrolyte membrane, an anode separator on the anode, a cathode separator on the cathode, and a voltage applicator. Upon the voltage applicator applying a voltage between the anode and the cathode, protons are extracted from an anode fluid fed to the anode to migrate to the cathode through the electrolyte membrane and compressed hydrogen is produced. The cathode separator has a first O-ring groove formed in a cathode-side principal surface of the cathode separator to surround a region of the cathode-side principal surface which faces the cathode. The compression apparatus includes a first O-ring held by the first O-ring groove and a face seal disposed on an outer periphery of a region of an anode-side principal surface of the anode separator which faces the anode.

A hydrogen supply system includes an electrochemical hydrogen pump which includes: an electrolyte membrane; an anode provided on a first surface of the electrolyte membrane; a cathode provided on a second surface of the electrolyte membrane opposite to the first surface; and a current adjuster adjusting a current amount flowing between the anode and the cathode, and which performs a hydrogen supply operation by allowing a current to flow between the anode and the cathode using the current adjuster so as to boost the pressure of hydrogen which is supplied to an anode side at a cathode side and to supply the pressure-boosted hydrogen to a hydrogen demander; and a dew point adjuster adjusting a dew point of a mixed gas in which a hydrogen-containing gas which is discharged from the anode side and a hydrogen-containing gas which is supplied from an outside are mixed together.

Hydrogen supply system for adjusting dew point of a hydrogen-containing gas supplied thereto

A hydrogen supply system includes: an electrochemical hydrogen pump including an electrolyte membrane, an anode and a cathode provided to a first and second main surfaces of the electrolyte membrane, respectively, an anode flow path and cathode flow path through which hydrogen flows, and a voltage applicator applying a voltage between the anode and cathode, pressurizing and sending hydrogen supplied to the anode via the anode flow path to the cathode by applying a voltage by the voltage applicator, and supplying the pressurized hydrogen in the cathode flow path to a hydrogen reservoir; a pressure adjuster adjusting a cathode flow path pressure; and a controller controlling the pressure adjuster and making the cathode flow path pressure higher than an anode flow path pressure before starting a hydrogen pressurization action for pressurizing and supplying hydrogen supplied to the anode flow path to the cathode flow path.

Hydrogen supply system and driving method of hydrogen supply system

A hydrogen supply system includes: a controller; and an electrochemical hydrogen pump including: an electrolyte membrane; a pair of electrodes provided on two surfaces of the electrolyte membrane; and a current adjuster adjusting a current flowing between the electrodes, the electrochemical hydrogen pump performs a hydrogen supply operation supplying pressure-boosted hydrogen to a hydrogen demander by allowing a current to flow between the electrodes by the current adjuster; and when a cumulative hydrogen supply amount which is supplied to the hydrogen demander from start to completion of the hydrogen supply operation to the hydrogen demander from the electrochemical hydrogen pump is smaller than a cumulative hydrogen supply amount in another hydrogen supply operation, the controller controls the current adjuster so that the current flowing between the electrodes is decreased to be smaller than that in the another hydrogen supply operation.

Hydrogen supply system

A solid oxide fuel cell system includes: an igniting portion configured to ignite a raw material when starting up the solid oxide fuel cell system; a raw material supply portion configured to supply the raw material; a reforming air supply portion configured to supply reforming air; and an electric power generation air supply portion configured to supply electric power generation air. When starting up the solid oxide fuel cell system, the raw material supply portion supplies the raw material, and the electric power generation air supply portion supplies the electric power generation air. The igniting portion ignites the raw material. After the ignition, the reforming air supply portion supplies the reforming air. With this, the safety can be increased in consideration of characteristics in respective phases from the start-up of the solid oxide fuel cell system until the electric power generation.

Solid oxide fuel cell system

A high-temperature fuel cell system includes a fuel cell that includes an anode and a cathode and that generates power by using a fuel gas and an oxidant gas, a fuel-gas path along which the fuel gas flows, an oxidant-gas path along which the oxidant gas flows, an anode-off-gas path along which an anode off-gas flows, a cathode-off-gas path along which a cathode off-gas flows, a combustion space in communication with the anode-off-gas path and the cathode-off-gas path and in which the anode off-gas and the cathode off-gas are burned, a flue-gas path along which a flue gas flows, a cathode-off-gas branch portion disposed on the cathode-off-gas path between the combustion space and the cathode and at which some of the cathode off-gas is branched from the cathode-off-gas path, and a first heat exchanger that enables heat exchange between the oxidant gas, the flue gas, and the cathode off-gas.

High-temperature fuel cell system

An apparatus includes: an electrolyte membrane; a cathode catalyst layer provided to one main surface of the electrolyte membrane; an anode catalyst layer provided to the other main surface of the electrolyte membrane; a cathode gas diffusion layer provided on a main surface of the cathode catalyst layer not facing the electrolyte membrane; a separator including a recess through which cathode gas flows; an anode gas diffusion layer provided on a main surface of the anode catalyst layer not facing the electrolyte membrane; a voltage applicator applying a voltage between the cathode catalyst layer and the anode catalyst layer; and a fastener fastening a laminated body. The cathode gas diffusion layer is accommodated in the recess, projects from the recess in a thickness direction before fastening of the laminated body, and includes an elastic member between side surfaces of the cathode gas diffusion layer and of the recess.

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Neyagawa, Japan

Osamu Sakai