公开(公告)号：US10700368B2

公开(公告)日：2020-06-30

申请号：US15944426

申请日：2018-04-03

Applicant: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Inventor： Jin Zhang ,  Shigenori Onuma ,  Takashi Kakuwa ,  Masashi Morita

IPC: H01M8/04225 ,  H01M8/04828 ,  H01M8/2425 ,  H01M8/04701 ,  H01M8/04291 ,  H01M8/12 ,  H01M8/04302 ,  H01M8/04746 ,  H01M8/0612 ,  H01M8/04014 ,  H01M8/0432 ,  H01M8/04007

Abstract: A high-temperature operation fuel cell system includes a cell stack; a reformer; a raw material supplier supplying a raw material to the reformer; a water supplier supplying reforming water; an air supplier supplying electric power generation air; a combustion chamber in which an off-gas from the cell stack is combusted and which heats the cell stack and the reformer; an igniter igniting the off-gas in the combustion chamber; and a controller. In a start-up sequence, the controller controls so that the raw material is supplied to the reformer, the electric power generation air is supplied to the cell stack, the off-gas is ignited by the igniter, and after the ignition, the supply of the reforming water is started, and after the supply of the reforming water is started, the controller further controls the air supplier to increase the flow rate of the electric power generation air in a stepwise manner.

公开(公告)号：US12095132B2

公开(公告)日：2024-09-17

申请号：US17471726

申请日：2021-09-10

Applicant: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Inventor： Osamu Sakai ,  Yukimune Kani ,  Takashi Kakuwa ,  Hiromi Kita ,  Tomoya Kamata ,  Takayuki Nakaue

IPC: H01M8/248 ,  H01M8/0438 ,  H01M8/0656 ,  H01M8/1004

CPC classification number: H01M8/248 ,  H01M8/04388 ,  H01M8/0656 ,  H01M8/1004

Abstract: A compression apparatus includes a stack of electrochemical cells each including an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte membrane interposed therebetween, a pair of insulating plates disposed at respective ends of the stack in a stacking direction, a pair of end plates disposed on outside surfaces of the respective insulating plates, and a voltage applicator that applies a voltage between the anode and the cathode. The end plate having the cathode gas channel includes a first region that includes an outer peripheral surface of the cathode gas channel and is composed of a first steel material and a second region other than the first region which is composed of a second steel material. The first steel material has higher hydrogen embrittlement resistance than the second steel material, and the second steel material has higher stiffness than the first steel material.

公开(公告)号：US11978933B2

公开(公告)日：2024-05-07

申请号：US17412331

申请日：2021-08-26

Applicant: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Inventor： Osamu Sakai ,  Takashi Kakuwa

IPC: H01M8/0656 ,  C25B9/05

CPC classification number: H01M8/0656 ,  C25B9/05

Abstract: A compression apparatus includes an electrolyte membrane, an anode on a principal surface of the electrolyte membrane, a cathode on another principal surface of the electrolyte membrane, an anode separator on the anode, a cathode separator on the cathode, and a voltage applicator. Upon the voltage applicator applying a voltage, protons are extracted from an anode fluid fed to the anode to move to the cathode through the electrolyte membrane and compressed hydrogen is produced. The anode separator has a fluid channel, a manifold hole, and a communicating path which are formed in an anode-side principal surface. The compression apparatus includes a face seal disposed on an outer periphery of a region of the anode-side principal surface of the anode separator which faces the anode. The face seal has a three-layer structure including a metal sheet and a pair of elastic sheets.

公开(公告)号：US11329303B2

公开(公告)日：2022-05-10

申请号：US16451165

申请日：2019-06-25

Applicant: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Inventor： Shigenori Onuma ,  Takashi Kakuwa ,  Yuichi Mikami ,  Tomohiro Kuroha

IPC: H01M8/04955 ,  H01M8/0432 ,  H01M8/04537 ,  H01M8/04746 ,  H01M8/04858 ,  H01M8/0612 ,  H01M8/1253 ,  H01M8/12

Abstract: A fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell stack including a plurality of cells, each of which has a fuel electrode, an air electrode, and an electrolyte, and performs a power generation by a reaction between a fuel gas and air; a fuel supplier supplying the fuel gas to the fuel electrode; an air supplier supplying the air to the air electrode; a voltage detector detecting the voltage of the fuel cell stack; and a controller stopping the supplying of the fuel gas by the fuel supplier and the supplying of the air by the air supplier when the voltage of the fuel cell stack detected by the voltage detector is decreased to be lower than a threshold voltage after the power generation of the fuel cell stack is stopped.

公开(公告)号：US12148935B2

公开(公告)日：2024-11-19

申请号：US17323905

申请日：2021-05-18

Applicant: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Inventor： Shigenori Onuma ,  Takashi Kakuwa

IPC: H01M4/90 ,  H01M8/0206 ,  H01M8/021 ,  H01M8/0228

Abstract: An electrochemical device includes an electrolyte membrane, an anode disposed on a first main surface of the electrolyte membrane, a cathode disposed on a second main surface of the electrolyte membrane, an anode separator disposed on the anode, and a cathode separator disposed on the cathode. At least one of the anode separator or the cathode separator includes a metal substrate sheet and a conductive layer disposed on the metal substrate sheet and containing a metal oxide and a metal hydroxide.

公开(公告)号：US11456467B2

公开(公告)日：2022-09-27

申请号：US16516874

申请日：2019-07-19

Applicant: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Inventor： Takashi Kakuwa ,  Hiromi Kita ,  Tomoya Kamata ,  Masatoshi Nakamura ,  Tomohiro Kuroha

IPC: H01M8/0271 ,  H01M8/1213 ,  H01M8/2425 ,  H01M8/12 ,  C25B9/19

Abstract: A solid oxide fuel cell including unit cells, including: a pair of interconnectors for electrically connecting the unit cells; a membrane-electrode assembly including an electrolyte membrane and a pair of electrode layers disposed with the electrolyte membrane therebetween; a pair of current collectors disposed between the electrode layers and the interconnectors so as to be in contact with the pair of electrode layers and the pair of interconnectors, respectively, and electrically connecting the pair of electrode layers and the pair of interconnectors; and elastic bodies biasing at least one current collector of the pair of current collectors toward a corresponding electrode layer and made of austenitic stainless steel.

公开(公告)号：US11196069B2

公开(公告)日：2021-12-07

申请号：US16380332

申请日：2019-04-10

Applicant: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Inventor： Tomoya Kamata ,  Takashi Kakuwa

IPC: H01M8/04858 ,  H01M8/04746 ,  H01M8/04828 ,  H01M8/0612 ,  H01M8/12 ,  H01M8/124

Abstract: A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack that generates electricity using fuel and oxidant gases, a reformer that produces the fuel gas by reforming a raw material, a raw material feeder that supplies the raw material to the reformer, a combustor that combusts anode off-gas discharged from the anode of the fuel cell stack, and a controller that controls the raw material feeder. The period of a load-following operation in which the power output of the fuel cell stack shifts from a lower level to a higher level, is divided into multiple sub-periods. For each sub-period, a ratio is determined from the increase amounts in the flow rate of the raw material during the sub-period and the length of the sub-period. The controller controls the raw material feeder to make a ratio on the higher output side smaller than another on the lower output side.

公开(公告)号：US10320016B2

公开(公告)日：2019-06-11

申请号：US15590859

申请日：2017-05-09

Applicant: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Inventor： Osamu Sakai ,  Kunihiro Ukai ,  Yasushi Kaneko ,  Shigenori Onuma ,  Takashi Kakuwa

IPC: C01B3/06 ,  H01M8/124 ,  H01M8/0612 ,  H01M8/0662 ,  H01M8/04007 ,  H01M8/04014

Abstract: A high-temperature fuel cell system includes a fuel cell that includes an anode and a cathode and that generates power by using a fuel gas and an oxidant gas, a fuel-gas path along which the fuel gas flows, an oxidant-gas path along which the oxidant gas flows, an anode-off-gas path along which an anode off-gas flows, a cathode-off-gas path along which a cathode off-gas flows, a combustion space in communication with the anode-off-gas path and the cathode-off-gas path and in which the anode off-gas and the cathode off-gas are burned, a flue-gas path along which a flue gas flows, a cathode-off-gas branch portion disposed on the cathode-off-gas path between the combustion space and the cathode and at which some of the cathode off-gas is branched from the cathode-off-gas path, and a first heat exchanger that enables heat exchange between the oxidant gas, the flue gas, and the cathode off-gas.

公开(公告)号：US12046781B2

公开(公告)日：2024-07-23

申请号：US17464579

申请日：2021-09-01

Applicant: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Inventor： Osamu Sakai ,  Yukimune Kani ,  Takashi Kakuwa ,  Hiromi Kita ,  Tomoya Kamata ,  Takayuki Nakaue

IPC: H01M8/04276 ,  H01M8/04029

CPC classification number: H01M8/04276 ,  H01M8/04029

Abstract: A compression apparatus includes a stack of electrochemical cells each including an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte membrane interposed therebetween, a pair of insulating plates disposed at respective ends of the stack in a stacking direction, a pair of first end plates disposed on outside surfaces of the respective insulating plates, and a voltage applicator that applies a voltage between the anode and the cathode. Upon the voltage applicator applying the voltage, the compression apparatus causes hydrogen included in a hydrogen-containing gas fed to the anode to move to the cathode and produces compressed hydrogen. One of the first end plates have a first channel formed therein, through which the hydrogen-containing gas fed to the anode flows, and a second channel formed therein, through which a heating medium flows. The compression apparatus further includes a heater that heats the heating medium.

公开(公告)号：US11932953B2

公开(公告)日：2024-03-19

申请号：US17346423

申请日：2021-06-14

Applicant: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Inventor： Takashi Kakuwa ,  Hiromi Kita ,  Osamu Sakai

IPC: B01D53/32 ,  C25B1/04 ,  C25B1/50 ,  C25B9/05 ,  C25B9/19 ,  C25B13/05 ,  C25B15/02

CPC classification number: C25B9/19 ,  C25B1/04 ,  C25B1/50 ,  C25B9/05 ,  C25B13/05 ,  C25B15/02 ,  B01D53/326 ,  B01D2256/16

Abstract: A compression apparatus includes an electrolyte membrane, an anode on a principal surface of the electrolyte membrane, a cathode on another principal surface of the electrolyte membrane, an anode separator on the anode, a cathode separator on the cathode, and a voltage applicator. Upon the voltage applicator applying a voltage between the anode and the cathode, protons are extracted from an anode fluid fed to the anode to migrate to the cathode through the electrolyte membrane and compressed hydrogen is produced. The cathode separator has a first O-ring groove formed in a cathode-side principal surface of the cathode separator to surround a region of the cathode-side principal surface which faces the cathode. The compression apparatus includes a first O-ring held by the first O-ring groove and a face seal disposed on an outer periphery of a region of an anode-side principal surface of the anode separator which faces the anode.