# US 2021/0344031 A1 · Fuel cell system and operation method thereof

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- Number: US 2021/0344031 A1
- Document ID: US20210344031A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 16/864,494
- Filed: 2020-05-01
- Published: 2021-11-04
- Earliest claimed: 2020-05-01
- Assignees: Jiangsu Horizon New Energy Technologies Co. Ltd.
- Applicants: Jiangsu Horizon New Energy Technologies Co. Ltd.
- Inventors: Zhijun Gu
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20210344031A1

## CPC

- H01M 8/22: Fuel cells in which the fuel is based on materials comprising carbon or oxygen or hydrogen and other elements; Fuel cells in which the fuel is based on materials comprising only elements other than carbon, oxygen or hydrogen
- H01M 8/0271: Sealing or supporting means around electrodes, matrices or membranes
- H01M 8/04089: of gaseous reactants
- H01M 8/04216: {characterised by the choice for a specific material, e.g. carbon, hydride, absorbent}
- H01M 8/04753: {of fuel cell reactants}
- H01M 8/04873: {of the individual fuel cell}
- H01M 8/04992: characterised by the implementation of mathematical or computational algorithms, e.g. feedback control loops, fuzzy logic, neural networks or artificial intelligence
- Y02E 60/50: Fuel cells
- H01M: PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION

## Abstract

A fuel cell system and a method for operating the fuel cell system, wherein the fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, a controller, a switch, an oxygen supply device and an output circuit. The fuel cell includes an anode and a cathode. The fuel cell is a cathode enclosed fuel cell. The controller is used to drive control signal for adjusting the electrochemical metering ratio of oxygen flow, supplied by the oxygen supply device, to output current, wherein the electrochemical metering ratio is ‘a’, and ‘a’ satisfies: 1≤a≤4. The method of the present disclosure uses the fuel cell system of the present disclosure, which optimizes the performance of a fuel cell and makes the output interruption time very short; hence it is highly beneficial for providing a more stable output.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A fuel cell system, comprising:
a fuel cell, wherein the fuel cell includes an anode and a cathode, and the fuel cell is a cathode enclosed fuel cell;
a switch;
an oxygen supply device;
an output circuit, wherein the fuel cell is electrically coupled to the output circuit; and
a controller, wherein the controller is electrically coupled to the switch, the oxygen supply device, and the fuel cell,
wherein:
the controller is configured to drive a control signal for adjusting an electrochemical metering ratio of oxygen flow, supplied by the oxygen supply device, to output current,
the electrochemical metering ratio is ‘a’, and ‘a’ satisfies: 1≤a≤4, and
the controller is configured to operate the switch to supply at least one or more protons exceeding the electrochemical metering ratio under a normal operating oxygen supply, where the at least one or more protons are transferred from the anode to the cathode through at least one or more pulses, where the at least one or more protons at the cathode form hydrogen gas at the cathode.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The fuel cell system of claim 1, further comprising a fuse between the fuel cell and the switch.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The fuel cell system of claim 1, wherein the switch is a Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor (MOSFET).

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The fuel cell system of claim 1, further comprising a diode between the fuel cell and the output circuit.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The fuel cell system of claim 1, further comprising a solid-state relay between the fuel cell and the output circuit.

### Claim 6

A method for operating a fuel cell system, the method comprising the steps of:
providing the fuel cell system, including a fuel cell, a controller, a switch, an oxygen supply device, and an output circuit, wherein the fuel cell is a cathode enclosed fuel cell;
closing the switch of the fuel cell system;
driving the controller to control an electrochemical metering ratio of oxygen flow, supplied from the oxygen supply device to an anode of the fuel cell, to operating output current;
wherein the electrochemical metering ratio is ‘a’, and ‘a’ satisfies: 1≤a≤4;
transferring at least one or more protons, which exceed the electrochemical metering ratio under a normal operating oxygen supply will be transferred from the anode to a cathode through the use of at least one or more pulses, where the at least one or more protons at the cathode form hydrogen gas; wherein a standard for determining at least one or more protons meeting an electrochemical metering ratio satisfying an operation condition is to reduce the average voltage of a single cell to equal to or less than 0.2V; and
outputting a current via the output circuit.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, wherein the oxygen supply device includes a compressed air cylinder with a controllable pressure reducing valve.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, wherein a pulse width is D, and D satisfies 15 ms≤D≤100 ms.

### Claim 9 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, wherein a pulse period is T, and T satisfies 5s≤T≤30s.

### Claim 10 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, wherein the method for realizing the output current via the output circuit is cutting off an output of the fuel cell before the start of the at least one or more pulses and resuming the output of the fuel cell after the end of the at least one or more pulses.