An air control valve apparatus for a fuel cell, which controls air that flows into or out of a fuel cell stack, includes a valve housing having an air flow path fluidically-communicating with the fuel cell stack; a valve member configured to selectively open or close the air flow path; a trapping portion provided in the valve housing, disposed adjacent to an internal surface of the valve member, and configured to trap foreign substances discharged from the fuel cell stack; and a siphon guide tube connected between the trapping portion and the outside of the valve member and configured to selectively discharge the foreign substances trapped by the trapping portion to the outside of the valve member, improving stability and reliability.

A method for preparing a fuel cell system in a vehicle for starting, for which purpose a starting preparation routine is carried out after the vehicle has been shut down depending on a temperature limit value. In the method, in the event that the fuel cell had not reached its normal operating temperature during the previous operation and a temperature falls below the predetermined temperature limit value, the fuel cell system is operated until it has reached its normal operating temperature and after which the starting preparation routine is subsequently carried out.

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack, an anode system apparatus, a control unit, an anode outlet temperature sensor, and a purge valve. In a method of starting operation of the fuel cell system at low temperature, a control unit compares a predetermined freezing temperature threshold value with an anode outlet temperature detected by an anode outlet temperature sensor. Then, the control unit performs low temperature control to place the purge valve in the constantly open state in the case where the temperature is not higher than the freezing temperature threshold value, and performs normal control for switching opening/closing of the purge valve in the case where the temperature exceeds the freezing temperature threshold value.

Provided is an end cell heater for a fuel cell capable of preventing water existing in reaction cells of a fuel cell stack from being frozen to improve initial start ability and initial driving performance of the fuel cell at the time of cold-starting the fuel cell during winter by disposing heaters on end cells disposed at both ends of the fuel cell stack and capable of securing air-tightness and pressure resistance properties of air passages and fuel passages formed in the end cell.

A method and system of controlling hydrogen purge are provided. The method includes estimating an air supply rate supplied to a fuel cell stack and then executing hydrogen purge based on the estimated air supply rate.

An illustrative example method of controlling operation of a fuel cell power plant includes opening a pneumatic valve using pneumatic pressure of pressurized fuel cell reactant, allowing the pressurized fuel cell reactant to flow through the pneumatic valve to a cell stack assembly, determining that shutdown of the cell stack assembly is desired, and control a rate that the pneumatic valve closes by controlling a rate of release of the pneumatic pressure.

The invention provides a water tank heating method and unit, an electronic device and a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system. Before the SOFC system is started, ice in a water tank has been heated up, so after the SOFC system is started, the heating time of the heated ice, i.e., the thawing time of the water tank, will be shortened. Further, in the ice heating process, a pre-set needed SOFC thawing time determined according to current stack outlet temperature is used as a heating control parameter. As the stack outlet temperature is a key factor influencing the starting time of the SOFC system, the heating control will be more accurate if the pre-set needed SOFC thawing time corresponding to the stack outlet temperature is used as a heating control parameter.

A fuel cell system is provided and the fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell; a fuel processing unit configured to process a raw fuel to produce a fuel gas for the fuel cell; an oxidant gas heating unit configured to heat an oxidant gas for the fuel cell; a combustor configured to combust the raw fuel to produce a combustion gas for use in heating the fuel processing unit and the oxidant gas heating unit; a supply control unit configured to, during a warm-up of the fuel cell, control supply of the raw fuel to the fuel processing unit and the combustor; and a power generation control unit configured to control a power generation state during the warm-up of the fuel cell. When the fuel cell has reached a power generation available temperature, the power generation control unit is configured to cause the fuel cell to perform power generation, and the supply control unit is configured to supply the raw fuel to both the fuel processing unit and the combustor.

A fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell that includes an installation port and a discharge port for a reactant gas; a first injection device that intermittently injects the reactant gas; second and third injection devices that continuously inject the reactant gas; an ejector that includes an ejection port for the reactant gas from the first or second injection device and the discharge port; a first flow passage that connects the installation port and the ejection port; a second flow passage through which the reactant gas from the third injection device is led to the first flow passage without the ejector; and a control device that performs a warm-up operation by executing the injection of the third injection device, executes the injection of the second injection device, and executes the injection of the first injection device after completion of the warm-up operation.

Disclosed is a method of controlling an air supply system for a fuel cell. The air supply system includes a fuel cell stack, an air channel to supply air to an inlet of the fuel cell stack, a gas adsorption unit disposed on the air channel and configured to adsorb oxygen contained in air introduced into the air channel. In particular, the method includes: determining whether a power generation operation of the fuel cell stack is resumed; when the power generation operation of the fuel cell stack is resumed, controlling a voltage source to apply a voltage to the gas adsorption unit; and supplying air to the fuel cell stack through the air channel in a state in which the voltage is applied to the gas adsorption unit.