Hyundai Motor Company

Korea Institute of Science and Technology

The Penn State Research Foundation

Soo Whan Kim

Jong Hyun Lee

Tae Won Lim

Heung Yong Ha

Ki Chun Lee

Seong-Ahn Hong

Kyu Taek Cho

Jae Jun Ko

In Hwan Oh

Ki Young Lee

Byung Ki Ahn

Jong Myeon Lee

Jong Jin Yoon

Sang-Yeoul Ahn

Matthew M Mench

In-Whan Oh

Yong-Chul Lee

Su Hyun Choi

The present invention provides a fuel cell bipolar plate in which an air gap or a material layer having a heat transfer coefficient lower than that of the bipolar plate is provided so as to reduce total amount of liquid water generated in a fuel cell, thereby preventing the occurrence of flooding and reducing the time required for cold start, enhancing durability, decreasing parasitic purge requirements, and enhancing operational stability.

Fuel cell bipolar plate for preventing flooding

A composite gasket for fuel cell stack comprises two rows of beads and a support which can improve mountability and sealing property and reduce the assembly pressure by using materials having low hardness with reduced volume. This invention also relates to a structure for the assembly of the composite gasket.

Unit cell structure comprising composite-gasket for fuel cell stack

A manufacturing method of Membrane-Electrode-Gasket Assemblies (MEGAs) used for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) is described wherein a polymer electrolyte membrane is formed directly on a electrode. A typical PEFC is constructed by assembling membrane-electrode assembly (MEA), gaskets, and separators. According to the invented method, PEFC is fabricated by assembling separators and MEGA, into which MEA and a gasket are integrated. Compared to the conventional MEA-gasket assemblies, MEGAs are easy to handle and can be mass-produced via a manufacturing process in a series. Moreover, employing MEGAs improves PEFC performance since the membrane thickness of MEGAs is lower than that of the conventional MEA-gasket assemblies.

Method of preparing membrane-electrode-gasket assemblies for polymer electrolyte fuel cells

A method for operating a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell at temperatures below the freezing point of water and an apparatus thereof are provided to prevent damage and performance degradation of the membrane-electrode assemblies. Non-humidified gas flows for several seconds before temperature of the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell falls below the freezing temperature of water when operation of the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell stops. Simultaneously, anode of the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell is filled with a solution having a low freezing point to prevent the temperature of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell falling below the freezing point of water due to the lower ambient temperature in the winter. When the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell is restarted, the cell performance is not degraded reflecting that the present invention stably preserves the fuel cell.

Method and apparatus for operating polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell below the freezing point of water

Growing community of inventors

Seongnam-si, South Korea

Soo Whan Kim