A fuel cell may include a first fuel cell bipolar plate defining an air layer, a second fuel cell bipolar plate defining a hydrogen layer, and a coolant layer defined by the air layer and the hydrogen layer. The coolant layer includes a plurality of coolant microchannels that facilitate flow of a coolant. A permeable support layer is arranged between the air layer and the hydrogen layer to define a gap therebetween to prevent flow blockage of the coolant microchannels while facilitating coolant flow therethrough.

A fuel cell that includes an air fuel cell bipolar plate and a hydrogen fuel cell bipolar plate respectively having a Turing-pattern microstructure configuration. The spatial arrangement of the air fuel cell bipolar plate and the hydrogen fuel cell bipolar plate is such that the air layer of the air fuel cell bipolar plate and the hydrogen layer of the hydrogen fuel cell bipolar plate are opposed to each other to define a microstructure configuration for a coolant layer.

A fuel cell may include a first fuel cell bipolar plate defining an air layer, a second fuel cell bipolar plate defining a hydrogen layer, and a coolant layer defined by the air layer and the hydrogen layer. The coolant layer includes a plurality of coolant microchannels that facilitate flow of a coolant. One or more support members are to extend between the air layer and the hydrogen layer to define one or more additional coolant flow paths between the air layer and the hydrogen layer.

A fuel cell may include a first fuel cell bipolar plate defining an air layer, a second fuel cell bipolar plate defining a hydrogen layer, and a coolant layer defined by the air layer and the hydrogen layer. A permeable support infill structure, composed of sintered thermally conductive powder particles, is arranged at the cooling layer to prevent flow blockage at the coolant layer, define a thermally conductive path between the air layer and the hydrogen layer, and facilitate coolant flow through the permeable support infill structure.

A bipolar plate formed from two interconnected individual plates is provided, which individual plates are each formed with a reactant flow field on plate surfaces facing away from each other, which reactant flow field comprises a plurality of flow ducts for a reaction medium which are delimited by walls of webs, wherein the webs and the flow ducts of one of the individual plates extend in an active region opposite to the webs and the flow ducts of the other of the individual plates, so as to form coolant ducts of a coolant flow field extending between the individual plates. Outside of and/or in an edge area of the active region, there is a lateral offset between the webs of the individual plates, in such a way that coolant ducts of the coolant flow field running adjacent thereto are fluidically connected to one another by means of pass-through openings for distributing a coolant flow. The invention also relates to a fuel cell stack with a plurality of such bipolar plates.

An outer surface of an upper wall of a stack case of a fuel cell system provided in a fuel cell vehicle includes a first outer surface, a second outer surface which is positioned closer than the first outer surface to a cell stack body, and an outer surface coupling part. Space is formed between a first upper wall of the upper wall and the cell stack body. Tabs and bus bars are disposed in the space.

A fuel cell system includes a first fluid flow plate including a first plurality of first channels for flow of an oxidant or a fuel. The plurality of first channel has first channel cross-sectional flow areas. A second fluid flow plate includes a second plurality of second channels for flow of an oxidant or a fuel. The plurality of second channels has second channel cross-sectional flow areas. A membrane electrode assembly is located between the first plate and the second plate. The first flow plate includes a passage for a flow of a fluid entirely on a seam side of the first flow plate as the first plurality of first channels. The passage has a cross-sectional area for flow of the fluid smaller than the first channel cross-sectional flow area.

A bipolar plate is provided that prevents pressure leaks from occurring at a seal bead. A fuel battery gasket is provided. The gasket is structured to include a pair of metal-made bipolar plates, seal beads, and a tunnel. The bipolar plates are interposed between a plurality of reaction electrode portions. The bipolar plates are fastened together with the reaction electrode portions and thereby joined to each other. The seal beads are provided at one or both of the bipolar plates by being patterned in full-bead forms. The tunnel is bridged between the adjacent seal beads and allows their insides to communicate with each other. When a height of the seal bead is H1 and a height of the tunnel is H2, H1/H2 is set to be equal to or larger than 1.6.

A power generation cell of a fuel cell stack includes a resin frame equipped MEA and a first metal separator and a second metal separator. In the power generation cell, the relationship of P1>P2>P3 is satisfied, where P1 indicates a first surface pressure applied from a first seal part and a second seal part to a resin frame member, P2 indicates a second surface pressure applied from a first support part and a second support part to the overlap part, and P3 indicates a third surface pressure applied from first flow field forming protrusions and second flow field forming protrusions to the power generation area.

A fluid flow plate having first and second fluid flow channels on a fluid flow plate with an active area of fluid flow fields having one or more arrays of fluid transfer points (301, 302, 303) disposed along an edge of the flow field for communicating fluid into or out of flow channels. A first and second distribution gallery (15, 16, 21) with peripheral edge portions bounded by the arrays including at least one pair of inlets in external edges of the fluid flow plate and wherein the first fluid distribution gallery is shaped such that the combined lengths of the first-gallery second peripheral edge portions are longer than the first-gallery first peripheral edge portion, and wherein the internal edges of the flow plate comprise edges of a hole, aperture, or port passing through the flow plate, and the external edges of the flow plate comprise an outer peripheral edge of the plate. The edges each may comprise a castellated structure (31, 32, 34).