Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.k.

Shigeru Inai

Ryo Jinba

Katsumi Hayashi

Hideo Kato

Hiromichi Yoshida

Minoru Uoshima

Tomoki Kobayashi

Yasunori Kotani

Minoru Koshinuma

Masahiko Sato

Narutoshi Sugita

Seiji Sugiura

Naoki Mitsuta

Yoshikazu Murakami

Shinya Watanabe

Kaoru Fukuda

Chikara Iwasawa

Takashi Komura

Masaki Tani

Shuhei Goto

Chihiro Wake

Koichiro Miyata

Takeshi Muro

Nobuyuki Matsumoto

Yasuhiro Watanabe

Ken Takahashi

Jun Kondo

Hayato Kaji

Tadashi Nishiyama

Kenichiro Ueda

Hiroyuki Tanaka

Manabu Tanaka

Yosuke Fujii

Masaaki Sakano

Masanori Hayashi

Masahiro Mohri

Teruyuki Ohtani

Masao Utsunomiya

Hiroshi Shinkai

Hiroshi Morikawa

Shuji Sato

Katsuhiko Kohyama

Tomoyuki Tada

Takahiro Takai

Masahiko Inoue

Yohei Hidaka

Ryo Jimba

Yuya Sato

A fuel cell stack includes a first end power generation unit and a first dummy unit adjacent to a power generation unit at one end of a stack body in a stacking direction. In the first end power generation unit, a first separator is stacked on the power generation unit, a first membrane electrode assembly is stacked on the first separator, a second separator is stacked on the first membrane electrode assembly, an electrically conductive plate is stacked on the second separator, and a third separator is stacked on the electrically conductive plate. A coolant is supplied to a coolant flow field formed between the power generation unit and the first end power generation unit, for cooling a second membrane electrolyte assembly of the power generation unit and the first membrane electrode assembly of the first end power generation unit.

Fuel cell stack

A method of actuating a fuel cell system equipped with a fuel cell is disclosed. The fuel cell system is supplied with reaction gases for generating electricity. The method includes the steps of: a first step for actuating the fuel cell in a low-temperature actuation mode to thereby warm up the fuel cell, if a low-temperature actuation condition is satisfied at a start-up of the fuel cell; and a second step for drying a membrane electrode assembly of the fuel cell, if a power generation capacity of the fuel cell is lower than a predetermined power generation capacity.

Method of actuating fuel cell system and fuel cell system

A stop method for a fuel cell system including a fuel cell unit in which hydrogen is supplied to an anode, and air is supplied to a cathode so as to generate electrical power via an electrochemical reaction. The stop method includes the steps of stopping supply of hydrogen to the anode, electrically connecting the anode and the cathode via an electrical load, and supplying air to the anode.

Stop method for fuel cell system and fuel cell system

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell and a supplying unit, which supplies reactive gases to the fuel cell. A control unit includes a power production effective area calculator calculates the areas of the electrodes available for power production as a power production effective area. A current density calculator which calculates a current density of the power production effective area calculated by the power production effective area calculator based on the total amount of power required by the fuel cell. A gas supply amount determiner determines the amount of reactive gas to be supplied to the fuel cell depending on the current density. A gas supply controller controls the supplying unit so as to supply the amount of reactive gas determined by the gas supply amount determiner to the fuel cell.

Fuel cell system and fuel control method

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, an operation controller, a checking unit, a scavenging unit, an instructing unit, a temperature sensor, a humidifier and a humidification controller. The operation controller selects one of a normal operation mode and a low-temperature operation mode. The checking unit determines whether the fuel cell has been started up in the low-temperature operation mode. The instructing unit provides an instruction for a shutoff of electricity generation. When the scavenging unit conducts scavenging based on the checking unit determining that the fuel cell has been started in the low-temperature operation mode in response to an instruction for a shutoff of electricity generation and an actual temperature of the fuel cell is higher than a predetermined temperature, the humidification controller controls an amount of humidification according to the actual temperature.

Fuel cell system and shutoff method

An oxygen-containing gas flow field is formed on a surface of a first metal separator. The oxygen-containing gas flow field is connected between an oxygen-containing gas supply passage and an oxygen-containing gas discharge passage. The oxygen-containing gas flow field comprises oxygen-containing gas flow grooves, and ends of the oxygen-containing gas flow grooves are extended outwardly beyond ends of electrode catalyst layer of a membrane electrode assembly, and connected to an inlet buffer and an outlet buffer. When the purging process is performed at the time of stopping operation of the fuel cell, the purging air supplied to the oxygen-containing gas flow field discharges water retained in the electrode catalyst layers from the ends to the outlet buffer.

Fuel cell

A first metal separator of a fuel cell comprises a metal plate, and a first seal member is formed integrally on both surfaces of an outer edge of the metal plate. A first rib having a frame shape is provided around an oxygen-containing gas supply passage or the like of the metal plate. The first rib has a rib surface spaced away from an inner end surface of the metal plate around the oxygen-containing gas supply passage or the like, toward the oxygen-containing gas supply passage or the like.

Fuel cell separator with integral seal member

A stop method for a fuel cell system that includes a fuel cell unit in which hydrogen is supplied to an anode, and air is supplied to a cathode so as to generate electrical power via an electrochemical reaction. The stop method includes the steps of stopping supply of hydrogen to the anode, and supplying air to the anode so as to discharge water remaining at the anode.

Stop method for fuel cell system

A method of operating a fuel cell assembly and a fuel cell system use a simple construction to restrain deterioration of power generating performance of a fuel cell assembly at a startup in a subfreezing environment. If an ignition switch is turned off is STEP, a control unit determines in STEPwhether the temperature of a fuel cell assembly (the internal temperature of the fuel cell assembly) is lower than a predetermined temperature, which is higher than the temperature at which the water produced during power generation freezes. If the internal temperature of the fuel cell assembly is the predetermined temperature or higher, then the processing proceeds to STEPwherein a power generating condition is adjusted to cause the internal temperature of the fuel cell assembly to rise. In STEP, an alarm device is actuated. The power generation is continued until the internal temperature of the fuel cell assembly reaches the predetermined temperature or higher, and then the power generation is stopped in STEP

Fuel cell assembly operating method and fuel cell system

After an ignition switch is turned off, in order to suppress operation of an air compressor and thereby reduce noise, liquid droplets residing in an oxygen-containing gas flow field as well as liquid droplets residing in a fuel gas flow field are removed during separate time periods, such that the flow rate in the oxygen-containing gas flow field and the flow rate in the fuel gas flow field do not become large at the same time. Then, an electrolyte membrane is dried using an oxygen-containing gas, in order to improve the performance upon starting a next operation.

Fuel cell system and scavenging method for use in a fuel cell system

A fuel cell stack includes a stack body formed by stacking a plurality of power generation cells in a stacking direction. At one end of the stack body, first and second dummy cells are provided. At the other of the stack body, third and fourth dummy cells are provided. Each of the first to fourth dummy cells includes a first metal separator and a second metal separator. The first metal separator and a first metal separator of the power generation cell have substantially the same shape. The second metal separator and a second metal separator of the power generation cell have substantially the same shape.

Fuel cell stack with dummy cell

A fuel cell stackincludes a stacked structurecomposed of a plurality of electricity-generating cells stacked successively, and dummy cells arranged at both ends in a stacking direction of the stacked structure. Each dummy celleach includes a conductive plateand first and second metallic separatorswhich sandwich the conductive plate. The conductive plateis formed of a metallic plate having substantially the same shape as that of the electrolytic membrane electrode assembly. The first and second metallic separatorsare structured in the same manner as the first and second metallic separatorsof the electricity-generating cell

A fuel cell stack which comprises a plurality of unit fuel cells laminated via separators, and is connected to external resistors each allowing a feeble current to flow to each unit fuel cell, whereby such problems as an open-circuit voltage generation and corrosion that may be caused by fuel gas remaining after operation shutdown can be resolved. A switch is preferably attached in series with an external resistor.

The fuel cell system is equipped with a fuel cell for generating power by a reaction of fuel and oxidizer gases, a fuel gas flow passage for passing the fuel gas, an oxidizer gas flow passage for passing the oxidizer gas, a sweeping gas supply mechanism for sweeping any of the fuel and oxidizer gas flow passages by a sweeping gas, a sweeping determination mechanism for determining whether to perform sweeping by the sweeping gas supply mechanism, when receiving a stop request for stopping the fuel cell system, a pressure reduction mechanism for reducing a pressure within one of the flow passages lower than when determined not to perform the sweeping, when determined to perform the sweeping by the sweeping determination mechanism, and an actuation mechanism for actuating the sweeping gas supply mechanism after the pressure within the flow passage is reduced by the pressure reduction mechanism.

Fuel cell system

Growing community of inventors

Shioya-gun, Japan

Shigeru Inai