Fuelcell Energy, Inc.

Energy Research Corporation

The United States of America As Represented by the Department of Energy

Pinakin S Patel

Ludwig Lipp

Scott C Blanchet

Fred C Jahnke

Matthew Lambrech

Hansraj C Maru

Jonathan Malwitz

Jesse Roy

Mohammad Farooque

Sai P Katikaneni

Dilip J Dharia

Chao-yi Yuh

Ramakrishnan Venkataraman

Jeffrey Peter Allen

George P Berntsen

Nicholas Pasquale

Lawrence M Paetsch

Ray Kopp

Jen Jung Fan

Willam Urko

A humidity transfer assembly includes a pressure vessel and a humidity transfer device disposed in the pressure vessel. The humidity transfer device includes an enclosure, a first inlet line fluidly coupled to the enclosure and configured to supply anode exhaust thereto, a first outlet line fluidly coupled to the enclosure and configured to output anode exhaust therefrom, and a second inlet line fluidly coupled to the enclosure and configured to supply feed gas thereto. The humidity transfer device is configured to transfer steam from anode exhaust to feed gas and to output feed gas into the pressure vessel.

High efficiency humidity management system for fuel cells and higher-temperature electrochemical systems

Humidity transfer assemblies for fuel cells and higher-temperature electrochemical systems

A cooling plate assembly includes an anode half-plate having an anode upper surface and an opposing anode lower surface, and a cathode half-plate having a cathode upper surface and an opposing cathode lower surface, the cathode lower surface configured to engage the anode upper surface. The assembly further includes a cooling tube disposed between and engaging the anode upper surface and the cathode lower surface.

Two-phase water cooling in an electrochemical hydrogen separator

A high temperature electrolyzer assembly comprising at least one electrolyzer fuel cell including an anode and a cathode separated by an electrolyte matrix, and a power supply for applying a reverse voltage to the at least one electrolyzer fuel cell, wherein a gas feed comprising steam and one or more of CO2 and hydrocarbon fuel is fed to the anode of the at least one electrolyzer fuel cell, and wherein, when the power supply applies the reverse voltage to the at least one electrolyzer fuel cell, hydrogen-containing gas is generated by an electrolysis reaction in the anode of the at least one electrolyzer fuel cell and carbon dioxide is separated from the hydrogen-containing gas so that the at least one electrolyzer fuel cell outputs the hydrogen-containing gas and separately outputs an oxidant gas comprising carbon dioxide and oxygen.

Reformer-electrolyzer-purifier (REP) assembly for hydrogen production, systems incorporating same and method of producing hydrogen

A fuel cell system for generating electrical power and high level heat comprising at least one high temperature fuel cell stack having an anode side and a cathode side and adapted to generate electrical power, and a gas oxidizer/high level heat recovery assembly comprising an oxidizer adapted to oxidize one or more of exhaust output from the at least one high temperature fuel cell stack and a gas derived from the exhaust, and to generate high level heat, and a high level heat recovery system adapted to recover the high level heat generated in the oxidizer.

Fuel cell system with waste heat recovery for production of high pressure steam

A load-following fuel cell system for a grid system operating with a high penetration of intermittent renewable energy sources includes a baseload power generation module and a load-following power generation module. The baseload power generation module provides a baseload power to the grid system and includes a high-efficiency fuel cell system. The high-efficiency fuel cell system includes a topping module and a bottoming module. The topping module and the bottoming module are connected in series and the topping module provides an exhaust stream to the bottoming module. The load-following power generation module provides a load-following power to the grid system and includes an energy storage system that separates and stores hydrogen contained in the exhaust stream and a power generation system having one or more fuel cells. The power generation system receives the hydrogen from the energy storage system to provide the load-following power.

Load-following fuel cell system with energy storage

An energy storage system for an electrical grid running on a renewable energy source includes a baseload power module, a waste converter module, and a load-following power module. The baseload power module includes a first fuel cell system configured to provide a baseload power to the electrical grid. The waste converter module is configured to extract and store hydrogen from an exhaust stream produced by the first fuel cell system. The load-following power module includes a second fuel cell system configured to receive hydrogen from the waste converter module and convert the hydrogen to electrical energy to support the electrical grid.

Fuel cell-fuel cell hybrid system for energy storage

An assembly and associated method of manufacture are provided in which electrostatic deposition is used to directly apply and/or apply without solvents an electrode to one of an ion-conducting member, a member adapted to hold an ion-conducting member and a gas diffusion layer of the assembly.

Electrode assembly and method of making same

An oxidizer assembly provided with a housing having a plurality of inlets each for receiving a different gas and a plurality of outlets each corresponding to a different one of the inlets and outputting gas resulting from the gas received from its corresponding inlet. A catalyst assembly able to support gas flow therethrough is disposed within the housing and includes a catalyst able to oxidize carbon monoxide gas and to be regenerated. The catalyst assembly is further adapted to be movable such that successive parts of the assembly are able to be brought repeatedly in communication with a first inlet and its corresponding first outlet and then a second inlet and its corresponding second outlet of the housing. In the preferred form of the invention, the catalyst assembly is additionally adapted so that each section is brought in communication with a third inlet and its corresponding third outlet after being in communication with the second inlet and its corresponding second outlet and prior to being brought back into communication with the first inlet and its corresponding outlet.

Regenerative oxidizer assembly for use in PEM fuel cell applications

A fuel cell assembly having a plurality of fuel cells arranged in a stack. An end plate assembly abuts the fuel cell at an end of said stack. The end plate assembly has an inlet area adapted to receive an exhaust gas from the stack, an outlet area and a passage connecting the inlet area and outlet area and adapted to carry the exhaust gas received at the inlet area from the inlet area to the outlet area. A further end plate assembly abuts the fuel cell at a further opposing end of the stack. The further end plate assembly has a further inlet area adapted to receive a further exhaust gas from the stack, a further outlet area and a further passage connecting the further inlet area and further outlet area and adapted to carry the further exhaust gas received at the further inlet area from the further inlet area to the further outlet area.

Modular fuel-cell stack assembly

An end unit for a fuel cell stack having a plurality of fuel cell stacked in a first direction, the end unit for stacking in the first direction adjacent an end fuel cell in the fuel cell stack. The end unit separates a current collection post from the end cell of the fuel cell stack and comprises a first wall being adjacent the end cell when the end unit is stacked in the first direction in the fuel cell stack, a second wall opposing the first wall and adjacent the current collection post when the end unit is stacked in the first direction in the stack, a first side wall connecting the first and second walls, a second side wall transverse to the first side wall and connecting the first and second walls, a third side wall opposing the first side wall and connecting the first and second walls, a fourth side wall opposing the second side wall and connecting the first and second walls, with the first and second walls and the first, second, third and fourth side walls forming an enclosure, and a plurality of electrically conductive posts disposed within the enclosure and extending between the first and second walls for providing a structure which restricts electrical current flow from the first fuel cell stack to the current collection post when the end unit is stacked in the first direction in the fuel cell stack.

Fuel cell end unit with integrated heat exchanger

A modular multi-stack fuel-cell assembly in which the fuel-cell stacks are situated within a containment structure and in which a gas distributor is provided in the structure and distributes received fuel and oxidant gases to the stacks and receives exhausted fuel and oxidant gas from the stacks so as to realize a desired gas flow distribution and gas pressure differential through the stacks. The gas distributor is centrally and symmetrically arranged relative to the stacks so that it itself promotes realization of the desired gas flow distribution and pressure differential.

An end unit for a fuel cell stack is described that contains an integrated heat exchanger for superheating the fuel gas before delivery to the stack. Heat is transferred from the hot cathode outlet stream to the cool fuel inlet stream in a space adjacent the stack's end plate. The end unit is designed as a hollow box forming the shell of the exchanger with the heat exchanger inside. The end unit has openings that allow fuel cell process gas to be taken directly from the stack without requiring piping or ductwork to be attached to thin manifolds. Separate chambers are provided for both the cathode outlet and anode outlet gas, thereby allowing all process connections to be made at one end of the stack. The end unit also features a current collection post that is separated from the end cell of the stack by a multitude of members which provide structural support for the end unit and act to more uniformly collect electrical current than would a single, large current post.

A fuel cell system containing a mixer/eductor for reducing the pressure difference between the gases in the anode and cathode-sides of a fuel cell stack. The mixer/eductor is placed at the mixing point between the anode tail or exhaust fuel gas and the fresh air or oxidant supply gas inlet. The incoming oxidant pressure is converted to a high momentum stream to form a suction on the fuel exhaust gas. This suction compensates for pressure losses in the gas piping and the oxidizer used to burn the exhaust fuel gas resulting in substantial balancing of the anode and cathode-side gas pressures. The mixer/eductor can be in the form of an axial or annular jet pump unit, both of which are advantageous in aggressively mixing the fuel exhaust gas with the incoming oxidant or air. The mixer/eductor geometry can be varied to provide the proper suction to balance pressures over a chosen range of operating conditions. Additionally, the incoming fresh air flow rate or an oxidant exhaust recycle flow rate can be varied to actively balance pressures at any operating point.

Growing community of inventors

Danbury, CT, United States of America

Pinakin S Patel