Described herein are systems and methods of hydrogen generation and electrolyte regeneration as independent operations in separate redox flow cells. The operations can be decoupled by using an energy-bearing redox pair that electrochemically bears energy facilitating flexible, efficient hydrogen generation. In one example, the hydrogen generation redox flow cell can include a liquid, energy-bearing electrolyte solution in which at least one species of an energy-bearing redox pair is dissolved, to decouple the hydrogen evolution reaction from the reaction at the opposite electrode (e.g., the oxygen evolution reaction of conventional direct water electrolysis). Each species of the energy-bearing redox pair is associated with a standard electrode potential within the water electrolysis window.

A fuel cell power controller tracks load current and fuel cell output voltage, and alerts on excessive fuel cell ramp rate, so another power source can supplement the fuel cell and/or the load can be reduced. A power engineering process makes efficient use of available fuel cell power by ramping up power flow rapidly when power is available, while respecting the ramp rate and other power limitations of the fuel cell and safety limitations of the load. Power flow decreases after an alert indicating an electrical output limitation of the fuel cell. Permitted power flow increases in response to a power demand increase (actual or requested) from the load in the absence of the alert. Power flow may increase or decrease in a fixed amount, a proportional amount, or per a sequence. A power controller relay may trip open on a low fuel cell output voltage or high load current.

An electrochemical element including a conductive plate-like support provided with an internal passage therein. The plate-like support includes, in at least a portion of a metal support included in the plate-like support: a gas-permeable portion through which gas is permeable between the internal passage, which is located inside the plate-like support, and the outside; and an electrochemical reaction portion that entirely or partially covers the gas-permeable portion and includes at least a film-like electrode layer, a film-like electrolyte layer, and a film-like counter electrode layer in the stated order. The plate-like support is provided with a plurality of passages in the internal passage.

A fuel cell system that includes a first fuel cell that generates electric power using a hydrogen-containing fuel gas; a second fuel cell that generates electric power using off-gas exhausted from the first fuel cell and containing hydrogen that has not reacted in the first fuel cell; a first control device that controls the electric power output from the first fuel cell by adjusting a current or a voltage being output from the first fuel cell; a second control device that controls the electric power output from the second fuel cell by adjusting a current or a voltage being output from the second fuel cell; and an output control device that controls at least one of the first control device or the second control device such that a total electric power being generated by the first fuel cell and the second fuel cell approaches an electric power demand.

An electric power supply system 100 comprises a fuel cell system 20 including an FC auxiliary machine 23 that operates to causes fuel cells to generate an electric power, and a battery 10 that generates heat through discharging and charging. The electric power supply system 100 supplies the electric power to an electric load device 90. The electric power supply system 100 determines an operation state of the battery 10, and supplies the electric power discharged from the battery 10 to the FC auxiliary machine 23 of the fuel cell system 20 when it is determined that the battery 10 is a predetermined temperature or less. When it is determined that the battery 10 is in a charging state, the electric power supply system 100 reduces or stops the electric power supplied to the FC auxiliary machine 23.

A fuel cell system installed in a vehicle includes: a fuel cell; a secondary battery; a load including a drive motor and an air compressor; a fuel cell converter; a secondary battery converter; a failure detection unit; a first state determination unit; a reverse rotation detection unit; and a control unit. The control unit performs a limp-home traveling control that supplies electric power from the secondary battery to the drive motor when the secondary battery converter fails. When the vehicle is not in the first state, the control unit prohibits regeneration of the drive motor. When the vehicle is in the first state, the control unit supplies a reaction current to the air compressor. When the reaction current is applied and a reverse rotation of the air compressor is detected, the control unit does not apply the reaction current thereafter.

A method of controlling energy in a datacenter includes receiving a fuel cell operating percentage of an operating capacity of the fuel cell, receiving a fuel cell exhaust temperature, receiving a hot aisle air temperature from a hot aisle of a server computer, determining a temperature delta between the hot aisle air temperature and the fuel cell exhaust temperature, and then allocating virtual machine placements to change a server user percentage relative to a server user capacity percentage target value to optimize the fuel cell operating percentage relative to the fuel cell efficiency target value, the temperature delta relative to the thermoelectric generator efficiency target value, and the server user percentage relative to the server user capacity percentage target value.

A fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell outputting generated power to an external load; a secondary battery outputting charged power to the external load; and a controller performing a first control that controls output power of the fuel cell and output power of the secondary battery such that the output power of the secondary battery has a ratio predetermined in accordance with an output demand from the external load, in the power supplied to the external load, the controller switches the first control to a second control when the output demand satisfies a predetermined condition with which the output power of the secondary battery is predicted to reach a limit value with the first control, the second control sets a target value of the output power of the fuel cell such that the output power of the secondary battery is smaller than that in the first control.

A fuel cell based power generator includes a fuel cell element, an ambient air path configured to receive ambient air and provide the ambient air across a cathode side of the fuel cell element, receive water from the fuel cell element and provide wet air to the water exchanger element, and a fuel cell cooling mechanism associated with the fuel cell element, separate from the ambient air path and configured to cool the fuel cell element.

A method of controlling energy in a datacenter includes receiving a fuel cell operating percentage of an operating capacity of the fuel cell, receiving a fuel cell exhaust temperature, receiving a hot aisle air temperature from a hot aisle of a server computer, determining a temperature delta between the hot aisle air temperature and the fuel cell exhaust temperature, and then allocating virtual machine placements to change a server user percentage relative to a server user capacity percentage target value to optimize the fuel cell operating percentage relative to the fuel cell efficiency target value, the temperature delta relative to the thermoelectric generator efficiency target value, and the server user percentage relative to the server user capacity percentage target value.