Nissan Motor Company Limited

Yasukazu Iwasaki

Makoto Uchiyama

Emi Kawasumi

Koudai Yoshizawa

Masatoshi Iio

Naoki Hara

Hiroyuki Ichikawa

Keisuke Wakabayashi

Takatoshi Noguchi

Takashi Oi

Hidetoshi Nojiri

Yasuhiro Numao

Shigeyuki Kiyota

Fumio Munakata

Yoshiharu Nakaji

Kazuhiro Sayama

Norihiko Kiritani

Takanori Hiyoshi

Susumu Uchikoshi

Makiko Mitamura

Makiko Kato

A photoelectrochemical cell () includes an electrolyte container () containing an ionic liquid (), and a partitioning membrane () dividing an interior of the electrolyte container () into two being a COcapturing chamber () and a COreleasing chamber (), having side walls opposing each other, with the partitioning membrane () in between, either as a carbon electrode () and the other as a photoelectrode (). A redox mediator (B) has different bonding forces to carbon dioxide, as it appears as an oxidant Band a reductant B, of which that one which has a greater bonding force serves as an intermediary chemical species carrying carbon dioxide to one of the paired electrodes (). Over the COreleasing chamber (), an upper wall portion () is formed, which has a COtake-out port (A) formed therein, for making use of oxidation and reduction of the redox mediator to achieve separation and concentration of carbon dioxide, converting photo energy of sunlight into electric power.

Photoelectrochemical cell

The semiconductor photoelectrode of the present invention includes a metallic substrate having irregularities in a surface and a semiconductor layer which is formed on the surface of the metallic substrate and composed of a photocatalytic material. This can increase the light absorption efficiency and, furthermore, prevent recombination of charges.

Semiconductor photoelectrode, method for manufacturing the same, and light energy converting device

A fuel cell system cooperating with a rechargeable battery () mounts a fuel cell () as a source of motive power in an electric vehicle with an electric motor. The fuel cell system and the rechargeable battery () supplies the electric motor with electrical power. The fuel cell system also includes a reformer () as a source of hydrogen hydrogen-containing gas supplied to the fuel cell (). The fuel cell system comprises a temperature sensor () for measuring the temperature (Tb) of the rechargeable battery and a controller () for controlling the response characteristics (mainly the response characteristics of the reformer) of the fuel cell system based on the measured temperature (Tb). The controller () calculates a response time of the fuel cell system based on the measured temperature, and controls the supply of hydrogen-containing gas to the fuel cell in response to the calculated response time.

Fuel cell system with reformer response time correction

A fuel cell includes a membrane electrode assemblyand a bipolar platedisposed outside the membrane electrode assembly. The bipolar plateis porous, and has first gas passagesformed on the top surface through which gas is passed, second gas passagesformed on the undersurface through which gas is passed, communicating passageswhich allow the first gas passagesand second gas passagesto communicate, a gas inletconnected to one of the first gas passagesand second gas passagesfor supplying gas, and a gas outletconnected to the other of the first gas passagesand second gas passagesfor discharging gas.

Polymer electrolyte fuel cell

A fuel cell power plant comprises a fuel reforming system (). The fuel reforming system () comprises a vaporizer () which vaporizes liquid fuel and supplies fuel vapor to a reformer (). The vaporizer () heats injected fuel so as to vaporize it by a heating elements (A), and supplies it to the reformer () via a fuel vapor supply passage () comprising a first valve (). In a standby mode of the vaporizer () when the first valve () is closed, surplus fuel and heat energy in the standby state are recovered by providing a recovery passage () which recovers fuel in the vicinity of the heating elements (A) to the fuel tank () without allowing it to flowing into the vapor supply passage ().

Fuel reforming system

A fuel cell system is provided with a fuel cell body, a hydrogen supply system supplying hydrogen containing gas to the fuel cell body, an oxygen supply system supplying oxygen containing gas to the fuel cell body, a cooling system adjusting the temperature of the fuel cell body, a water circulation system supplying water to humidify the fuel cell body and collecting water discharged from the fuel cell body, a generated heat amount calculating section calculating a generated heat amount of the fuel cell body, a cooling performance calculating section calculating a cooling performance of the cooling system, a temperature calculating section calculating a fuel cell temperature of the fuel cell body on the basis of the generated heat amount and the cooling performance, a collected water amount calculating section calculating an amount of water collected from the water circulation system on the basis of the fuel cell temperature, and a collected water amount controlling section controlling the amount of collected water discharged from the fuel cell body on the basis of the amount of collected water.

Fuel cell system and method

A fuel cell power plant system for a moving body includes a drive device () for driving the moving body by receiving power,-a power plant () having a fuel cell () for supplying power to the drive device () and a fuel supply device () which supplies fuel required by the fuel cell () to generate power, and a controller (). When the moving body has stopped, the controller () selects one operating mode from plural operating modes according to the running state of the power plant (), the fuel cell () not generating power to be supplied to the drive device in the plural operating modes, and controls the power plant () based on the selected operating mode.

Fuel cell power plant system for moving bodies and control method thereof

A fuel cell system has a heater () for heating water in the fuel cell system; and a controller () for controlling the heater. The controller () executes a stop mode having the smaller energy consumption of a temperature maintenance mode where water in the fuel cell system is maintained to a temperature greater than freezing point in a period after a shutdown the fuel cell system until a scheduled start-up date-time and a defrost start-up mode where frozen water in the fuel cell system is melted when the fuel cell system undergoes a start-up operation. The controller () stores a historical external temperature data for a period prior to the shutdown of the fuel cell system. The historical external temperature data is used for predicting the external temperature for the scheduled start-up date-time. The controller () calculates the energy consumption in the defrost start-up mode based on the predicted external temperature.

Fuel cell system

The invention presents a fuel reforming technique for a mobile fuel cell system capable of obtaining a reformed gas composition usable in fuel celleven if vapor temperature supplied from an evaporatorinto a fuel reformervaries significantly. This system comprises meansfor detecting the flow rate of fuel vapor and oxygen to be supplied into the fuel reformerand meansfor detecting at least temperature of fuel vapor to be supplied into the fuel reformer, temperature of oxygen, and temperature of mixed gas of fuel vapor and oxygen, in which the ratio of the flow rate of fuel vapor and the flow rate of oxygen is corrected on the basis of the signal value of the temperature detecting means, and oxygen is supplied depending on the corrected ratio.

A fuel cell system is provided which performs simple control of the time until warm-up of the reformer () is completed. This fuel cell system comprises a reformer () which generates a reformate gas, and a fuel cell () which generates power from an oxidizing agent and the reformate gas supplied from the reformer (). The fuel cell system is provided with a temperature sensor () which performs a detection at one position of the temperature immediately before starting or re-starting the reformer () and a controller () estimating the time to warm-up the reformer () based on the detected temperature of the reformer ().

A fuel cell power plant comprises plural fuel cell stacks (A&#x2013;B) capable of generating power independently, and a warm-up circuit () which can independently warm up the fuel cell stacks (A&#x2013;C). A controller () estimates a required output power of the power plant within a predetermined time from when the vehicle starts running (S&#x2013;S), and determines the number of fuel cell stacks satisfying the required output power (S). The controller () economizes energy required for warm-up of the fuel cell stacks while providing the required output power by warming up only the determined number of fuel cell stacks before the vehicle starts running.

Vehicle fuel cell power plant warm-up control

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell (), an exhaust gas circulation passage () which circulates part of the exhaust gas from the fuel cell () back to the fuel cell (), a fuel injector () which injects liquid fuel into the circulated exhaust gas, and a vaporizer () which vaporizes the injected fuel. The fuel cell system has a high response, as the liquid fuel injected into the exhaust gas rapidly vaporizes.

A fuel cell vehicle drives a motor () with electric power from a fuel cell power system () comprising a fuel cell () which generates electricity using hydrogen and oxygen. A controller () calculates an electrical load demand required to run the vehicle. When this value is below a predetermined load, it performs constant load operation of the fuel cell power system (), and when the predetermined load value is exceeded, it operates it under a load according to the electrical load demand. The demand for resolution and precision of the various sensors or flowrate control valves installed in the fuel cell power system and thereby suppressed, costs can be reduced, and fuel cost-performance is improved by continuing an efficient operating state.

Operating load control for fuel cell power system in fuel cell vehicle

A CO sensor () which detects CO contained in the air supplied to a fuel cell () by a compressor (), and a sensor () which detects the state of charge (SOC) of a battery (), are provided in a fuel cell vehicle. A controller () controls operation and stop of the fuel cell based on CO concentration and the state of charge of the battery (), and stops operation of the fuel cell () at a lower CO concentration the higher the state of charge of the battery ().

Fuel cell vehicle

A fuel cell power plant is provided for a mobile unit. The mobile unit is provided with a drive device () driving the mobile unit when supplied with electrical power. The power plant comprises a fuel cell () generating power when supplied with fuel, a battery () charged with power generated by the fuel cell, a power regulation device () selectively distributing power from the fuel cell () and the battery () to the drive device (), and a controller () for controlling running operations. The controller () estimates the energy required to activate the fuel cell (), and controls the power regulation device () when the energy required to activate the fuel cell is greater than or equal to a determination value so that the fuel cell is not activated and power from the battery () is supplied to the drive device ().

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Yasukazu Iwasaki