System and method for recovering potential energy of a hydrogen gas fuel supply for use in a vehicle

9) A system for supplying pressurized hydrogen gas and air to a fuel cell within a vehicle, said system comprising:

• a fuel tank which stores said pressurized hydrogen gas;
• a first conduit system which selectively and fluidly couples said fuel tank to said fuel cell, effective to allow said pressurized hydrogen gas to be selectively communicated to said fuel cell;
• a generator for producing electrical power;
• an expander which is disposed within said first conduit system, which is operatively coupled to said generator, and which is selectively and rotatably driven by said pressurized hydrogen gas, effective to lower the pressure of said hydrogen gas which is communicated to said fuel cell and to cause said generator to produce electrical power;
• a bypass valve which is disposed within said first conduit system and which is effective to cause said pressurized hydrogen gas to selectively bypass said expander;
• and
• a controller which is communicatively connected to said bypass valve and which selectively actuates said bypass valve, effective to cause said pressurized hydrogen gas to selectively bypass said expander.

15) A method for generating electricity in a vehicle including a tank of pressurized gas and a fuel cell which consumes said pressurized gas, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing a first conduit system for transferring said pressurized gas from said tank to said fuel cell;
• providing an expander;
• operatively disposing said expander within said first conduit system;
• providing a generator for producing electrical power;
• operatively connecting said expander to said generator;
• and
• selectively channeling said pressurized gas through said expander, effective to rotatably drive said expander, thereby causing said generator to produce electrical power.