# US 11,993,158 B2 · Electrical energy system with fuel cells

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- Number: US 11,993,158 B2
- Document ID: US11993158B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/266,532
- Filed: 2019-07-08
- Published: 2021-10-14
- Granted: 2024-05-28
- Earliest claimed: 2018-08-07
- Assignees: Audi AG
- Applicants: Audi AG
- Inventors: Martin Breu; Maximilian Schiedermeier
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11993158B2

## CPC

- B60L 50/75: using propulsion power supplied by both fuel cells and batteries
- B60L 58/40: for controlling a combination of batteries and fuel cells
- B60L 50/70: using power supplied by fuel cells (in combination with batteries B60L50/75)
- B60L 53/11: {DC charging controlled by the charging station, e.g. mode 4}
- B60L 53/14: Conductive energy transfer
- B60L 53/60: Monitoring or controlling charging stations
- H02M 1/42: Circuits or arrangements for compensating for or adjusting power factor in converters or inverters
- B60L 2210/10: DC to DC converters
- Y02T 10/70: Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
- Y02T 10/7072: Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
- Y02T 90/12: Electric charging stations
- Y02T 90/14: Plug-in electric vehicles
- Y02T 90/40: Application of hydrogen technology to transportation, e.g. using fuel cells
- B60L: PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of electrical propulsion units or of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion in vehicles B60K1/00, B60K6/20; arrangements or mounting of electrical gearing in vehicles B60K17/12, B60K17/14; preventing wheel slip by reducing power in rail vehicles B61C15/08; dynamo-electric machines H02K; control or regulation of electric motors H02P); SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (electric coupling devices combined with mechanical couplings of vehicles B60D1/64; electric heating for vehicles B60H1/00); ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL (control or regulation of electric motors H02P); MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
- H02M: APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION BETWEEN AC AND AC, BETWEEN AC AND DC, OR BETWEEN DC AND DC, AND FOR USE WITH MAINS OR SIMILAR POWER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; CONVERSION OF DC OR AC INPUT POWER INTO SURGE OUTPUT POWER; CONTROL OR REGULATION THEREOF (transformers H01F; dynamo-electric converters H02K47/00; controlling transformers, reactors or choke coils, control or regulation of electric motors, generators or dynamo-electric converters H02P)
- Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION

## Abstract

An electrical energy system includes a fuel cell, a high-voltage battery, a direct-current converter with electrical isolation arranged between the fuel cell and the high-voltage battery, and a mains charging device connected between the fuel cell and the direct-current converter, wherein the mains charging device contains a rectifier but no DC-to-DC converter with electrical isolation. A method for operating such an electrical energy system for a motor vehicle includes charging the high-voltage battery by using the rectifier to rectify a mains voltage and passing the rectified mains voltage on to the high-voltage battery via the direct-current converter arranged between the fuel cell and the high-voltage battery.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of operating an energy system for a vehicle, the energy system including a fuel cell, a high-voltage battery, a direct-current converter with electrical isolation arranged between the fuel cell and the high-voltage battery, and a mains charging device connected between the fuel cell and the direct-current converter, wherein the mains charging device contains a rectifier but no DC-to-DC converter with electrical isolation, the method comprising:
electrically connecting the fuel cell to the direct-current converter;
electrically connecting the high-voltage battery to the direct-current converter;
adapting fuel cell power, by the direct-current converter, and passing adapted fuel cell power to the high-voltage battery;
charging the high-voltage battery by using the rectifier to rectify a mains voltage and passing the rectified mains voltage on to the high-voltage battery via the direct-current converter arranged between the fuel cell and the high-voltage battery; and
electrically isolating, by the direct-current converter, the high-voltage battery from the mains voltage.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein a power factor correction takes place in the rectifier.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the direct-current converter is a push-pull converter, a resonant converter, or a bridgeless power factor correction (PFC) converter.