Methods and apparatuses for continuous manufacturing of fuel cells

Abstract

An apparatus and method for substantially continuously manufacturing fuel cells are provided. Each cell generates electrical power from reactions of reactants therein. Each cell comprises component parts assembled and/or laminated together in a stacked configuration. The apparatus includes an assembly zone for receiving rolls of material and/or pre-formed component parts for fabricating the cells, and assembly devices for, commencing from a starting layer, progressively assembling and/or laminating layers of material and/or pre-formed component parts from the rolls to the starting layer to manufacture the fuel cells, a testing zone for applying a test procedure to the cells to identify functional cells thereof or parts thereof, the testing zone also including a fuel-cell repair function for recycling fuel cells, or parts thereof, found to be to be defective in response to applying the test procedure, a separating zone for mutually separating the functional cells into individual fuel cells, parts thereof or groups of such fuel cells, and a stacking zone for mutually assembling the functional fuel cells or the groups of such functional cells into stacks of such fuel cells to manufacture fuel cell packs.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.