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AssigneeBloom Energy Corporation
InventorsK.R. Sridhar, Matthias Gottmann
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An electrochemical system includes a reversible fuel cell system which generates electrical energy and reactant product from fuel and oxidizer in a fuel cell mode and which generates the fuel and oxidant from the reactant product and the electrical energy in an electrolysis mode. The system also includes a reactant product delivery device which is adapted to supply the reactant product to the reversible fuel cell system operating in the electrolysis mode, in addition to or instead of the reactant product generated by the reversible fuel cell system in the fuel cell mode, and a fuel removal device which is adapted to remove the fuel generated by the reversible fuel cell system operating in the electrolysis mode from the electrochemical system.
A method of operating a reversible fuel cell system, comprising cyclically operating the reversible fuel cell system in a fuel cell mode to generate electrical energy and reactant product from fuel and oxidizer at a first equilibrium temperature and in an electrolysis mode to generate the fuel and oxidant from the reactant product and the electrical energy at a second equilibrium temperature, wherein the first equilibrium temperature is different from the second equilibrium temperature.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.