Cathode-to-cathode fuel cell stacks

Abstract

A plurality of fuel cell stacks (8, 8a, 9, 9a) have their cathode ends (11, 12) contiguous with either a common current collector (15a-15d) or respective current collectors (15a, 15b) which may be separated by electrical isolation (27a, 27b). The cathode-to-cathode relationship protects the cathode of each of the stacks from cold ambient environments, thereby permitting improved cold starts and mitigation of performance loss as a result of cold starts as well as freeze/thaw cycles. Heaters (30, 30a-30d) may be provided in current collectors, or in or between electrical isolation. Four stacks may share one current collector, or each may have its own current collector.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.