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

8) 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 motor/generator for selectively converting torque into electrical power, and for selectively converting electrical power into mechanical torque;
• a source of electrical power which is selectively connected to said motor/generator and which selectively provides electrical power to said motor/generator;
• an expander which is disposed within said first conduit system, which is operatively coupled to said motor/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 second conduit system which fluidly couples said fuel cell to a source of air, effective to allow said air to be selectively communicated to said fuel cell;
• a compressor which is disposed within said second conduit system, which is operatively coupled to said motor/generator, and which is selectively and operatively coupled to said expander, said compressor being selectively and rotatably driven by said expander and by said motor/generator and being effective to pressurize said air within said second conduit system;
• and
• a clutch which selectively connects and disconnects said expander and said compressor.

14) A method for recovering potential energy stored within a pressurized gas used to power a fuel cell within a vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:

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