Disclosed is a porous support including fine porous structures formed between nanofibers, wherein the fine porous structures have a porosity of 50% to 90%, a pore size of 0.01 μm to 10 μm and an air permeability of 0.01 to 7 sec/100 cc.Math.air, and the porous support has a thickness of 5 μm to 50 μm, a method of manufacturing the same and a reinforced membrane including the same.

A fuel cell system comprising an anode compartment which comprises an anode having a copper catalyst layer, a cathode configured as an air cathode and a separator interposed between said anode and said cathode, operable by an amine-derived fuel and oxygen (or air) is disclosed. Further disclosed are fuel cell systems comprising an anode compartment which comprises an anode having a copper catalyst layer, a cathode and a separator interposed between said anode and said cathode, which are operable by a mixture of two types of amine-derived compounds (e.g., ammonia borane, hydrazine and derivatives thereof). Also disclosed are methods of producing electric energy by, and electric-consuming devices containing and operable by, the disclosed fuel cell systems.

A fuel cell system comprising an anode compartment which comprises an anode having a copper catalyst layer, a cathode configured as an air cathode and a separator interposed between said anode and said cathode, operable by an amine-derived fuel and oxygen (or air) is disclosed. Further disclosed are fuel cell systems comprising an anode compartment which comprises an anode having a copper catalyst layer, a cathode and a separator interposed between said anode and said cathode, which are operable by a mixture of two types of amine-derived compounds (e.g., ammonia borane, hydrazine and derivatives thereof). Also disclosed are methods of producing electric energy by, and electric-consuming devices containing and operable by, the disclosed fuel cell systems.

Ion exchange membranes materials according to the present disclosure exhibit improved conductivity at low and intermediate relative humidity without sacrificing mechanical strength. Polymers are provided that include a backbone with one or more aryl groups, a halocarbyl group, and a halocarbyl side chain attached to the backbone, wherein the halocarbyl side chain includes a halide separated from the backbone by a hydrocarbyl chain, a hydrocarbyl ring, or combinations thereof. The halide is substituted with a tertiary amine and halide anions are then exchanged with hydroxide anions. The polymers are then contacted with phosphoric acid, which is deprotonated by the hydroxide ions, forming anions which enhance interactions with adjacent quaternary ammonium groups and induce excess phosphoric acid molecules to cluster around those quaternary ammonium groups. The membranes exhibit negligible dopant leaching even at high relative humidity.

Ion exchange membranes materials according to the present disclosure exhibit improved conductivity at low and intermediate relative humidity without sacrificing mechanical strength. Polymers are provided that include a backbone with one or more aryl groups, a halocarbyl group, and a halocarbyl side chain attached to the backbone, wherein the halocarbyl side chain includes a halide separated from the backbone by a hydrocarbyl chain, a hydrocarbyl ring, or combinations thereof. The halide is substituted with a tertiary amine and halide anions are then exchanged with hydroxide anions. The polymers are then contacted with phosphoric acid, which is deprotonated by the hydroxide ions, forming anions which enhance interactions with adjacent quaternary ammonium groups and induce excess phosphoric acid molecules to cluster around those quaternary ammonium groups. The membranes exhibit negligible dopant leaching even at high relative humidity.

An electrolyte membrane including (i) a porous mat of nanofibres, wherein the nanofibres are composed of a non-ionically conducting heterocyclic-based polymer, the heterocyclic-based polymer comprising basic functional groups and being soluble in organic solvent; and (ii) an ion-conducting polymer which is a partially- or fully-fluorinated sulphonic acid polymer. The porous mat is essentially fully impregnated with ion-conducting polymer, and the thickness of the porous mat in the electrolyte membrane is distributed across at least 80% of the thickness of the electrolyte membrane. Such a membrane is of use in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell or an electrolyser.

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell in which at least one of an anode electrode and a cathode electrode with an electrolyte membrane interposed therebetween from both sides contains a radical inhibitor; a purging device which performs a purging process of purging water in the fuel cell by supplying a purging gas into the fuel cell after a power generation stop request of the fuel cell is issued; and a purging control unit which sets a purging condition of the purging process so as to increase a purging power in stages or continuously as a correlation value correlated with an accumulated amount of the radical inhibitor accumulated in the electrolyte membrane changes with an increase in the accumulated amount.

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell in which at least one of an anode electrode and a cathode electrode with an electrolyte membrane interposed therebetween from both sides contains a radical inhibitor; a purging device which performs a purging process of purging water in the fuel cell by supplying a purging gas into the fuel cell after a power generation stop request of the fuel cell is issued; and a purging control unit which sets a purging condition of the purging process so as to increase a purging power in stages or continuously as a correlation value correlated with an accumulated amount of the radical inhibitor accumulated in the electrolyte membrane changes with an increase in the accumulated amount.

A battery bank for a redox flow battery having a cavity in which electrolyte is stored, wherein the electrolyte is provided for supply to one or more redox flow cells, wherein the cavity is a cavern.

A battery bank for a redox flow battery having a cavity in which electrolyte is stored, wherein the electrolyte is provided for supply to one or more redox flow cells, wherein the cavity is a cavern.