Redox flow battery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10818939-B2
Application number	US-201616075229-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 3, 2016
Priority date	Feb 3, 2016
Publication date	Oct 27, 2020
Grant date	Oct 27, 2020

Abstract

Provided is a redox flow battery in which damage is unlikely to occur in a membrane. A redox flow battery includes a pair of adjacent cell frames, each cell frame including a frame body in which a flow channel for an electrolyte is formed, and a bipolar plate disposed inside the frame body; a positive electrode and a negative electrode disposed so as to face each other between the bipolar plates of the pair of cell frames; a membrane interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode; a protection plate which covers the flow channel and presses edge portions of the positive electrode or the negative electrode toward the bipolar plate; and a membrane protection structure which prevents the membrane from being broken by contact between the protection plate and the membrane.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A redox flow battery comprising:
a pair of adjacent cell frames, each cell frame including a frame body in which a flow channel for an electrolyte is formed, and a bipolar plate disposed inside the frame body;
a positive electrode and a negative electrode disposed so as to face each other between the bipolar plates of the pair of cell frames;
a membrane interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode;
a protection plate which covers the flow channel and presses edge portions of the positive electrode or the negative electrode toward the bipolar plate; and
a membrane protection structure which prevents the membrane from being broken by contact between the protection plate and the membrane,
wherein the membrane protection structure includes a film cover part which is formed of a material having a lower hardness than the protection plate and covers a corner portion of the protection plate interposed between the positive electrode or the negative electrode and the membrane.

2. The redox flow battery according to claim 1 , wherein the protection plate and the film cover part are integrated as one body.

3. The redox flow battery according to claim 1 , wherein the frame body has a rectangular shape, and the film cover part is disposed at least on long-side sides of the frame body.

4. The redox flow battery according to claim 1 , wherein the film cover part has a thickness of 0.005 to 0.5 mm.

5. The redox flow battery according to claim 1 , wherein the film cover part includes at least one of a sheet, a porous material, a woven fabric, and a non-woven fabric.

6. The redox flow battery according to claim 1 , wherein the film cover part has a type A durometer hardness of 40 to 100.

7. The redox flow battery according to claim 1 , wherein the membrane protection structure includes a corner R portion in which a corner portion of the protection plate on the membrane side is rounded, and the corner R portion has a bend radius R of t/2 or more, where t is the thickness of the protection plate.

8. The redox flow battery according to claim 1 , wherein the membrane protection structure includes a flexible portion on the membrane side of the protection plate, the flexible portion having a type A durometer hardness of 40 to 100.

Assignees

• Sumitomo Electric Industries

Inventors

• Shiraki Kosuke
• Kanno Takashi
• Ito Takefumi
• Kuwabara Masahiro
• Yamaguchi Hideyuki
• Fujita Hayato
• Hayashi Kiyoaki
• Moriuchi Kiyoaki

Classifications

• H01M8/248

  Means for compression of the fuel cell stacks · CPC title

• H01M8/188 Primary

  by recharging of redox couples containing fluids; Redox flow type batteries · CPC title

• H01M8/0273 Primary

  with sealing or supporting means in the form of a frame · CPC title

• H01M8/0271

  Sealing or supporting means around electrodes, matrices or membranes · CPC title

• H01M8/18

  Regenerative fuel cells, e.g. redox flow batteries or secondary fuel cells · CPC title