A first representative value is acquired representing an amount of liquid water in a hydrogen gas passage (30) when a fuel cell stack (10) is to be started up. Based on the first representative value, a first purge gas amount is calculated. A second representative value is acquired representing a concentration of hydrogen gas in a hydrogen gas passage when the fuel cell stack is to be started up. Based on the second representative value, a second purge gas amount is calculated. The greater of the first purge gas amount and the second purge gas amount is set as a startup purge gas amount. When the fuel cell stack is to be started up, hydrogen gas is fed to the fuel cell stack while the purge control valve 38 is temporally opened to purge the gas by the startup purge gas amount.

An integrated fuel cell control system is provided. The integrated fuel cell control system includes at least one sensor, at least one hydrogen on/off valve, and a fuel control unit (FCU). The FCU is configured to directly operate the at least one sensor and the at least one hydrogen on/off valve in real time and to determine a supply pressure of hydrogen supplied to a fuel cell. Thereby, noise between controllers may be removed and costs may be reduced.

A method of monitoring operation of a reactor system includes causing a chemical reaction to occur within an assembly of the reactor system, and measuring a chemical composition of one or more reactants of the chemical reaction with spatial resolution at a plurality of points along a path within the assembly using a sensor system structured to implement distributed sensing. The sensor system includes an optical fiber sensing member provided at least partially within the assembly, wherein the optical fiber sensing member comprises a functionalized optical fiber based sensor device structured to exhibit a change in one or more optical properties in response to changes in the chemical composition of the one or more reactants.

Provided is a method of operating a fuel cell system equipped with a fuel cell stack, a liquid hydrogen storage unit configured to store liquid hydrogen, a boil-off gas recovery unit configured to recover boil-off gas generated from the liquid hydrogen storage unit, and a hydrogen concentration estimation unit configured to estimate the hydrogen concentration at a hydrogen electrode in the fuel cell stack in a standby state, the method including: in a case in which a hydrogen concentration at a hydrogen electrode in the fuel cell stack in a standby state has become less than a predetermined value, supplying boil-off gas recovered by the boil-off gas recovery unit to the hydrogen electrode in the fuel cell stack.

A fuel cell system is disclosed, which includes an anode recirculation loop having a fuel cell stack for generating power, a flowmeter, a current sensor and a processor. The flowmeter is configured for measuring a fuel flow rate provided into the anode recirculation loop. The current sensor is configured for measuring a current drawn from the fuel cell stack. The processor is configured for determining a steam to carbon ratio in the anode recirculation loop based on the measured fuel flow rate and the measured current. The fuel cell system further includes a temperature sensor for measuring a temperature in the anode recirculation loop. The process is configured for determining the steam to carbon ration further based on the measured temperature. A method for operating the fuel cell system and a fuel cell power plant are also disclosed.

A state determination device for a fuel cell for generating power upon receiving the supply of anode gas and cathode gas, comprising: an internal impedance measurement unit configured to measure an internal impedance of the fuel cell on the basis of an alternating-current signal of a predetermined frequency output from the fuel cell; and an anode reaction resistance estimation/calculation unit configured to calculate an estimation value of a reaction resistance of an anode electrode of the fuel cell on the basis of a measurement value of the internal impedance, wherein: the predetermined frequency is selected such that a difference between the estimation value of the reaction resistance of the anode electrode during hydrogen starvation and the estimation value of the reaction resistance of the anode electrode during oxygen starvation is not smaller than a predetermined value.

When a temperature measured by a temperature measurer is below a specified temperature, a controller of a fuel cell system activates a fuel-gas-concentration increasing mechanism by using electric power of a secondary battery, and executes a fuel-gas-concentration increasing process for increasing the fuel gas concentration toward a first target concentration. When the fuel gas concentration reaches equal to or more than a second target concentration lower than the first target concentration, the controller starts power generation by a fuel cell to activate the fuel-gas-concentration increasing mechanism by using electric power from the fuel cell, and executes the fuel-gas-concentration increasing process until the fuel gas concentration reaches the first target concentration or more.

An online observation method of an anode nitrogen concentration for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell is disclosed. Firstly, a dynamic model of anode nitrogen concentration is established based on a gas transmembrane penetration model and an anode material conservation model of a fuel cell, and then an average voltage degradation value between a nitrogen partial pressure and an average monolithic cell voltage is obtained as online feedback information, an online observer of anode nitrogen concentration is established based on the dynamic model of anode nitrogen concentration and the online feedback information, and the anode nitrogen concentration of the fuel cell is obtained by the online observer. The new method solves the problem of online observation of anode nitrogen concentration during the operation of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell engine system under dynamic conditions.

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, a fuel gas supply line, an oxidizing agent gas supply line, a fuel gas discharge line, and a reformer provided in the fuel gas supply line. A first circulating line circulates the fuel gas from the fuel gas discharge line to an upstream side of the reformer in the fuel gas supply line as a first circulating gas. The circulation device is provided in the fuel gas supply line, and suctions the first circulating gas by using the flow of the fuel gas flowing through the fuel gas supply line as a driving flow. A second circulating line circulates the fuel gas from a downstream side of the circulation device in the fuel gas supply line or the fuel gas discharge line to the upstream side of the circulation device in the fuel gas supply line as a second circulating gas.

A manufacturing method of a proton battery and a proton battery module are provided. The manufacturing method of the proton battery includes the steps of providing a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a polymer exchange membrane, and assembling the positive electrode, the negative electrode, and the polymer exchange membrane, in which the polymer exchange membrane is interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode. The step of providing the negative electrode at least includes forming a carbon layer on a substrate, and performing a polarization process on the carbon layer.