Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Shigetaka Hamada

Toru Nakamura

Yusuke Horii

Takaaki Sano

Haruka Hirose

Kota Manabe

Masaaki Kondo

Nobuyuki Orihashi

Masahiro Shige

Hideaki Tanaka

Robert Mason Darling

Kenji Sato

Hiroki Okabe

Takuya Kurihara

Makoto Yoshida

Mikio Kizaki

Hiroya Nakaji

Katsuhiko Kinoshita

Nobuhiko Nakagaki

Shampa Kandoi

Fumihisa Ishiguro

Kiyoshi Yoshinaga

Junji Ueda

A power management system includes a CEMS server that outputs a DR request to a plurality of power adjustment resources such that balancing is achieved every prescribed time period. The plurality of power adjustment resources include: a power-storage-type DER that stores the supply power in an energy form of at least one of electricity, heat and gas fuel; and a consumption-type DER that consumes the supply power by at least one of air conditioning and lighting. In a case where it is expected in the middle of the prescribed time period that the actual amount of power exceeds the planned amount of power at the end of the prescribed time period, the CEMS server outputs, to the power-storage-type DER more preferentially than to the consumption-type DER, the DR request for decreasing the actual amount of power in comparison with before expectation.

Power management system, server, and power supply and demand adjustment

A server that manages a plurality of power adjustment resources electrically connectable to a power network includes a determination unit and a first permission unit. The determination unit determines, before a vehicle including a power storage starts charging of the power storage by using the power network, whether or not electric power corresponding to charging power can be supplied to the power network by having at least one of the power adjustment resources respond to the charging of the power storage. When the determination unit determines that electric power can be supplied, the first permission unit permits supply of electric power from the power network to the vehicle.

Server and power management method

Before start of vehicle charging by using a power network, a first determination unit determines whether reserve of the power network is not less than a first reference value. When reserve of the power network is not less than the first reference value, a first permission unit permits supply of electric power from the power network to a vehicle. When reserve of the power network is smaller than the first reference value, a second determination unit determines whether or not electric power corresponding to charging power can be supplied to the power network by having at least one of power adjustment resources respond to vehicle charging. When the second determination unit determines that electric power can be supplied, a second permission unit permits supply of electric power from the power network to the vehicle.

A first switching unit switches a first power grid from an isolated operation to a grid-connected operation. In switching the first power grid from the isolated operation to the grid-connected operation, the first switching unit determines a master and a slave among a plurality of power adjustment resources and allows the first power grid to be connected to the second power grid after master-slave control by means of the master and the slave such that electric power of the first power grid is in synchronization with electric power of the second power grid. The first switching unit preferentially selects as the master, a power adjustment resource close to a point of connection between the first power grid and the second power grid from among the plurality of power adjustment resources.

A power management system includes a plurality of power adjustment resources electrically connected to a microgrid. The plurality of power adjustment resources include a plurality of EVSEs, each of EVSEs including a parking space. When any one of a plurality of power feeding vehicles is parked in the parking space, an EVSE enables power feeding from a vehicle parked in the parking space to the microgrid. A CEMS server manages the parking space. When a balance of power supply and demand in the microgrid is in an overdemand state, the CEMS server allocates the parking space to a power feeding vehicle that responds to a request for power feeding to the microgrid, of the plurality of power feeding vehicles.

Power management system, server, and power supply and demand adjustment method

A power management system includes a plurality of power adjustment resources electrically connected to a microgrid, and a CEMS server that manages the plurality of power adjustment resources. The plurality of power adjustment resources include a plurality of FCEVs that supply electric power to the microgrid. Each of the plurality of FCEVs executes a refresh process that removes an oxide film formed on a catalyst electrode of an FC stack by causing the FC stack to generate electric power exceeding prescribed electric power. The CEMS server adjusts execution timings of the refresh process in the plurality of FCEVs during power supply to the microgrid, so as to respond to a request to adjust power supply and demand in the microgrid.

A fuel cell system mounted on a vehicle includes a fuel cell, a humidity sensor configured to detect a humidity in a vehicle cabin of the vehicle, a cathode off-gas exhaust passage through which cathode off-gas emitted from the fuel cell is exhausted to outside the vehicle, an introducing port for cathode off-gas, provided in the cathode off-gas exhaust passage, a cathode off-gas introducing unit configured to introduce cathode off-gas emitted from the fuel cell, into the vehicle cabin of the vehicle via the introducing port, and a cathode off-gas introducing amount control unit configured to control an amount of the cathode off-gas introduced into the vehicle cabin of the vehicle in accordance with a humidity in the vehicle cabin of the vehicle, detected by the humidity sensor.

Fuel cell system

In switching of a microgrid from an isolated operation to an interconnected operation with a power grid, a CEMS server determines a first master DER and slaves based on a master plan and performs master-slave control. When the first master DER goes down, the CEMS server compares remaining capacities of power-storage-type DERs included in a DER group. The CEMS server then determines a DER with the highest remaining capacity as a second master DER among the power-storage-type DERs included in the DER group and performs master-slave control.

Electric power system and server

Provided is a fuel cell, the output voltage of which is improved by making a membrane moist state uniform. An anode-side gas diffusion layer and a cathode-side gas diffusion layer are joined to a membrane electrode assembly, and a separator is joined to the anode-side gas diffusion layer. The separator has a recess portion and a protrusion portion formed to constitute a gas flow path and a refrigerant flow path, respectively. The cross-sectional area of the recess portion is made relatively small at the downstream side in comparison with that at the upstream side, and the cross-sectional area of the protrusion portion is made relatively large at the downstream side in comparison with that at the upstream side, thereby improving the moist state.

Fuel cell

A separator for fuel cell includes a corrugated portion formed to have a corrugated cross section where a first groove that is concave to a first surface to form a flow path for a first fluid on the first surface and a second groove that is concave to a second surface opposite to the first surface to form a flow path for a second fluid on the second surface are arranged alternately and repeatedly. Each of the second grooves has at least one shallower groove section formed to have a less depth from the second surface than depth of a remaining groove section and provided to form a communication flow channel on the first surface side, which is arranged to communicate between two flow path spaces for the first fluid that are adjacent to each other across the shallower groove section.

Separator for fuel cell, fuel cell and method of manufacturing fuel cell

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, a controller, a resistance sensor, and a regulator. The fuel cell has a cathode plate, an anode plate, and an ion-exchange membrane interposed between the cathode plate and the anode plate. The controller is for controlling a gas flow rate to the anode plate. The resistance sensor is coupled to the fuel cell for measuring a resistance of the fuel cell. The regulator is coupled to the controller and coupled to the anode plate for regulating the gas flow to the anode plate. The controller receives a signal from the resistance sensor and is configured to control the regulator to adjust the gas flow to the anode plate based on the signal from the resistance sensor.

Method and apparatus for controlling the operation of a fuel cell

A fuel cell system according to the present invention is characterized by comprising a measurement unit which measures an impedance of a fuel cell in a predetermined frequency region, and a regulation unit which regulates an amount of a gas to be supplied to the fuel cell based on a measured value of the impedance in the predetermined frequency region. According to such a constitution, the impedance of the fuel cell in the predetermined frequency region (e.g., a low frequency region) is measured, and the amount of the gas (e.g., an amount of an oxidizing gas) to be supplied to the fuel cell is regulated based on this measured value of the impedance. Here, since the impedance of the fuel cell in the predetermined frequency region largely differs with a fuel supply state (see FIG.), the amount of the gas to be supplied to the fuel cell can be regulated based on the measured value of the impedance to realize a highly efficient and stable operation.

Fuel cell system which measures impedance

A fuel cell stack include a first group of cells, provided in the vicinity of the overall negative end of a fuel cell stack, and second group of cells, provided throughout the remainder of the fuel cell stack. The first cells have a higher resistance to flooding than the second cells, and the overall polarity of the fuel cell stack is reversed, the end of the stack where the water content is largest is made overall positive.

Fuel cell stack with improved resistance to flooding

A fuel cell system according to the present invention is characterized by comprising a fuel cell, measurement means for measuring impedances of the fuel cell in two kinds or more of frequency regions, and first judgment means for judging two or more parameters concerned with an internal state of the fuel cell based on measurement results of the impedances in the respective frequency regions. According to such a constitution, the impedances in the two or more types of frequency regions (a high frequency region, a low frequency region and the like) are measured to judge two or more parameters such as a wet state of an electrolytic film of the fuel cell and a supply state of a fuel gas, which are concerned with the internal state of the fuel cell based on this measurement result. Since such judgment is performed, as compared with the conventional technology, the internal state of the fuel cell can accurately be grasped, and highly efficient and highly robust control of the fuel cell system can be performed.

In a diagnostic method for a fuel cell, the amount of cross leak is determined by supplying the anode of the fuel cell with a hydrogen or hydrogen-containing gas, and supplying the cathode with an inert gas or vacuuming the cathode, and measuring the voltage of each cell.

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Toyota, Japan

Shigetaka Hamada