A gas channel forming plate is arranged between a membrane electrode assembly and a flat separator base. The gas channel forming plate includes gas channels arranged on a surface that faces the membrane electrode assembly, water channels each formed on the back side of the protrusion between an adjacent pair of the gas channels, communication passages that connect the gas channels and the water channels to each other, and guide portions formed by causing an inner wall surface of a gas channel to protrude inward in the gas channel. The guide portions are formed such that the upstream edge of each communication passage is arranged in a range in which, in the velocity vector of the gas flowing in the gas channel, the directional component directed from the side corresponding to the membrane electrode assembly toward the flat separator base has a positive value.

A fuel cell stack includes: a separator comprising channels and lands alternately repeated; and a gas diffusion layer in contact with the separator for transferring gas to a membrane-electrode assembly. The gas diffusion layer has a fiber arrangement structure having a predetermined directionality beneath the lands adjacent to opposite lateral sides of the channels based on a central portion of the channels to guide a transfer passage of the gas.

A humidification device includes a tubular mass exchanger fluidically coupled to receive intake air stream and transfer intake air stream to an intake air inlet of a fuel cell stack. The humidification device includes a housing configured to house the tubular mass exchanger to define a void therebetween. The housing defines at least one housing inlet opening fluidically coupled to direct an exhaust air stream output by the fuel cells tack into the void. The housing defines at least one housing outlet opening fluidically coupled to direct the exhaust air stream away from within the housing. The tubular mass exchanger is configured to extract water vapor from the exhaust air stream and transfer the extracted water vapor to the intake air stream flowing within the tubular mass exchanger to humidify the intake air stream to generate a humidified intake air stream.

A fuel cell vehicle is provided. The fuel cell vehicle includes a fuel cell including a cell stack configured such that a plurality of unit cells is stacked, a drive motor unit disposed below the fuel cell, a purge valve / drain valve assembly configured to discharge unreacted hydrogen and first condensate water flowing together out of the fuel cell, an air exhaust line configured to discharge unreacted oxygen and second condensate water flowing together out of the fuel cell, and a hydrogen exhaust line connecting the purge valve / drain valve assembly to the air exhaust line and disposed so as to avoid interference with the drive motor unit.

The invention relates to a method of remi-neralization and correction of pH for water produced by a fuel cell (P) on board an aircraft, noteworthy in that it consists in diverting part of the water (E1) produced by the cell to at least one treatment tank (200) containing a saturation reagent and in mixing the flow of treated water (E2) issuing from the treatment tank (200) with the undiverted flow of water (E3) so as to obtain water (E5) with the desired mineralization and/or pH. The invention also relates to devices making it possible to implement said method.

When a first timing at which a fuel gas is injected to a fuel gas supply flow path by an injector and a second timing at which water residing on a circulation flow path is discharged by controlling rotating speed of a circulation pump coincide with each other, a controller performs either: (i) a first process of operating the circulation pump at a preset RPM without injecting the fuel gas to the fuel gas supply flow path by the injector; or (ii) a second process of injecting the fuel gas to the fuel gas supply flow path by the injector and operating the circulation pump at an RPM lower than the preset RPM.

The disclosure relates to a proton exchange membrane fuel cell. The fuel cell includes: a container, wherein the container includes a reacting room, a fuel room connected to the reacting room through a fuel inputting hole, a fuel inputting door located on the fuel inputting hole, a waste collecting room connected to the reacting room through a waste outputting hole, a waste outputting door located on the waste outputting hole; a membrane electrode assembly device located in the reacting room, wherein the reacting room is divided into an anode electrode space and a cathode electrode space connected to the outside through a pipe, the volume of the anode electrode space and the cathode electrode space can be changed by moving the membrane electrode assembly device.

A fuel cell apparatus (10) and method (50) of operating a fuel cell are provided. The fuel cell apparatus (10) includes a fuel cell assembly (12) having a first outlet (26) and a first vessel (34) coupled to the first outlet (26) and forming a first dead end. The first vessel (34) is arranged to receive and hold a portion of a first reactant and water when a supply of the first reactant is being fed to the fuel cell assembly (12) and to return the first reactant in the first vessel (34) to the fuel cell assembly (12) via the first outlet (26) when the supply of the first reactant to the fuel cell assembly (12) is cut off.

A heat exchanger can be integrated into an interconnector that can be used in both a SOFC fuel cell and an EHT electrolyser, which allows a heat-transfer fluid different from that in the reactive and drainage gas circuits to be circulated from the inlet of the reactor, thereby allowing the best possible management of the exothermic operating modes of the SOFC cell and the exothermic or endothermic operating modes of the EHT electrolyser and the SOFC cell, especially in the absence of current for the latter.

A fuel cell vehicle includes a lid, a switch, a sensor, and circuitry. The lid opens and closes a fuel inlet through which fuel gas is to be supplied to a tank. The switch takes an opening position to open the lid and a closing position to close the lid. The sensor detects whether the lid opens or closes the fuel inlet. The circuitry is configured to prohibit the fuel cell vehicle from travelling when the sensor detects that the lid opens the fuel inlet while the switch takes the opening position.