A gas liquid separator of a fuel cell system includes a first channel forming section forming a first channel for allowing an oxygen-containing exhaust gas to flow in a horizontal direction, and a second channel forming section forming a second channel connected to the first channel. The first channel forming section is provided with an inlet for guiding the oxygen-containing exhaust gas into the first channel. The second channel forming section is provided with an outlet for discharging the oxygen-containing exhaust gas flowing through the second channel. The second channel includes a bent channel for guiding upward the oxygen-containing exhaust gas guided from the first channel.

A four-fluid bipolar plate for a fuel cell includes a nonporous sub-plate comprising a first reactant half-plate joined to a second reactant half-plate. The nonporous sub-plate includes an internal coolant passage network having coolant flow field passages extending across an active area of the fuel cell. The nonporous sub-plate defines fuel supply and fuel return internal manifolds, oxidant supply and oxidant return internal manifolds, water management supply and water management return internal manifolds, and coolant supply and coolant return internal manifolds. The internal coolant passage network may have secondary cooling functions, such as a reactant coolant loop surrounding an internal reactant internal manifold, providing a heat exchange area to cool incoming reactant gas, and cooling the interfacial and porous sub-plate seals.

A fuel cell system that generates electric power by supplying anode gas and cathode gas to a fuel cell includes a control valve adapted to control the pressure of the anode gas to be supplied to the fuel cell; a buffer unit adapted to store the anode-off gas to be discharged from the fuel cell; a pulsation operation unit adapted to control the control valve in order to periodically increase and decrease the pressure of the anode gas at a specific width of the pulsation; and a pulsation width correcting unit adapted to correct the width of the pulsation on the basis of the temperature of the buffer unit.

In order to improve estimation accuracy of a purging amount, a fuel cell system comprises a supply valve that controls a supply of an anode gas into an anode system, a purge valve that discharges an off-gas from the anode system, a pressure detecting unit configured to estimate or measures a pressure inside the anode system, and a purging amount estimating unit configured to estimate a purging amount of the off-gas discharged from the anode system through the purge valve based on a pressure change inside the anode system during a purge valve close duration in a supply valve open state and a pressure change inside the anode system during a purge valve close duration in a supply valve close state.

The invention relates to a method for producing a catalyst coated membrane (19) for a fuel cell (10), wherein the catalyst coated membrane (19) has a membrane (11) and a catalyst layer (12, 13) of a catalytic material arranged on at least one of its flat sides, as well as a nonrectangular active area (20), which is restricted in one direction by two outer sides (30) opposite one another. The method comprises a continuous application of the catalytic material to a membrane material (33) while creating a constant coating width (B) such that an area (35) coated with the catalytic material corresponds to at least the active area (20). A provision is that the membrane material (33) be coated with the catalytic material such that a coating direction (D) has an angle with respect to the opposite outer sides (30) of the active area (20) that is not equal to 90° and not equal to 0°.

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell having an anode and a cathode configured to output cathode exhaust. The fuel cell is configured to generate waste heat. The fuel cell system further includes a reformer configured to partially reform a feed gas using the waste heat and output a hydrogen-containing stream. The fuel cell system further includes a reformer-electrolyzer-purifier (“REP”) having an REP anode configured to receive a first portion of the hydrogen-containing stream and an REP cathode.

A fuel cell system including: a first fuel cell performing power generation using a fuel gas; a separation membrane separating at least one of carbon dioxide or water vapor from an anode off gas discharged from the first fuel cell; a second fuel cell disposed in the downstream of the separation membrane and performing power generation using the anode off gas, the anode off gas having at least one of carbon dioxide or water vapor separated therefrom; and a distribution channel disposed on a permeation side of the separation membrane and distributing any of the following: a raw material gas serving as the fuel gas to be reformed and used for the power generation of the first fuel cell, a cathode gas including oxygen to be used for the power generation of the first fuel cell, an anode off gas discharged from the second fuel cell, a cathode off gas discharged from the first fuel cell and to be supplied to the second fuel cell, or a cathode off gas discharged from the second fuel cell, in which at least one of permeability coefficient ratio α1 of the separation membrane or permeability coefficient ratio α2 of the separation membrane is 30 or higher.

An electrochemical module (EM) transfers a fluid across a membrane thereof using oxygen as a carrier gas. The EM has an anion exchange membrane (AEM) disposed between a first and second electrodes, each of which includes a catalyst. At an inlet side, the catalyst facilitates reaction of the fluid with carrier gas, such that an anion is formed. The anion is transported across the AEM in the presence of an electric field applied to the electrodes. At an outlet side, the catalyst facilitates dissociation of the anion back to the fluid and carrier gas. In some embodiments, the fluid comprises carbon dioxide, and the transporting by the EM is part of a heating/cooling cycle or a power generation cycle, or is used to capture carbon dioxide for storage or regeneration of stale air. In some embodiments, the fluid comprises water vapor, and the transporting by the EM dehumidifies air.

The invention relates to a fuel cell stack having a variety of individual cells stacked up to form a stack, having at least one humidifier section integrated into the stack and arranged at one end of the individual cells as an electrochemical section. The invention is characterized in that a heat exchanger section is arranged on the side of the at least one humidifier section facing away from the electrochemical section, wherein flow plates for distributing fluids in at least three sections of the stack have the same external geometry.

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell unit having an air inlet, a fuel inlet and an electrical energy outlet and a fuel cell exhaust outlet and a turbo-compressor unit to convert air from an air supply to compressed inlet air for the fuel cell unit. The turbo-compressor unit comprising a turbine and a compressor connected to a common rotatable shaft. The system also includes means for obtaining conditioned air exhausted from an enclosed space and directing the conditioned exhaust air to the turbine of turbo-compressor unit such that the conditioned exhaust air is expanded by the turbine causing rotation of the shaft and corresponding rotation of the compressor, means for providing air from the air supply to the compressor to be compressed and output from the compressor unit and provided as compressed inlet air to the air inlet of the fuel cell unit.