Battery cell, cell stack, and redox flow battery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11769886-B2
Application number	US-202017425194-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 24, 2020
Priority date	Jan 30, 2019
Publication date	Sep 26, 2023
Grant date	Sep 26, 2023

Abstract

A battery cell that has a supply edge to which an electrolyte solution is supplied and a discharge edge from which the electrolyte solution is discharged has an introduction port that connects with the supply edge and a discharge port that connects with the discharge edge, and includes a plurality of meandering flow paths each of which is serially formed from the introduction port to the discharge port, the plurality of meandering flow paths being arranged in parallel in a widthwise direction. Each of the meandering flow paths has an introduction-side section extending from the introduction port toward a discharge edge side, a turn-back section that is turned back from an end portion on the discharge edge side of the introduction-side section toward a supply edge side, and a discharge-side section reaching the discharge port from an end portion on the supply edge side of the turn-back section.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A battery cell comprising:
an electrode;
a bipolar plate arranged opposing the electrode;
a supply edge to which an electrolyte solution is supplied;
a discharge edge from which the electrolyte solution is discharged, the supply edge and the discharge edge being in a plan view from a direction in which the electrode and the bipolar plate overlap each other;
a frame member located around the bipolar plate and having on an inner periphery of the frame member;
a supply-side straightening portion extending along the supply edge; and
a discharge-side straightening portion extending along the discharge edge; and

a plurality of meandering flow paths each of which has an introduction port that is in connection with the supply edge, and a discharge port that is in connection with the discharge edge, and is serially disposed from the introduction port to the discharge port, the plurality of meandering flow paths being arranged in parallel in a widthwise direction, each of the meandering flow paths having:
an introduction-side section extending from the introduction port toward a discharge edge side, and having an end portion on the discharge edge side;
a turn-back section that is turned back from the end portion on the discharge edge side of the introduction-side section toward a supply edge side, and has an end portion on the supply edge side; and
a discharge-side section extending from the end portion on the supply edge side of the turn-back section toward the discharge edge side, and reaching the discharge port,

wherein a length in a lengthwise direction of a region in which the introduction-side section, the turn-back section, and the discharge-side section are arranged in the widthwise direction is 100 mm or more and 2000 mm or less, and the lengthwise direction is a direction from the supply edge toward the discharge edge, and the widthwise direction is a direction parallel to the supply edge and the discharge edge.

2. The battery cell according to claim 1 , wherein a distance in the widthwise direction between the introduction-side section and the turn-back section and a distance in the widthwise direction between the discharge-side section and the turn-back section are each 1 mm or more and 36 mm or less.

3. The battery cell according to claim 1 , wherein a cross-sectional area of each of the meandering flow paths is uniform over an entire length from the introduction port to the discharge port.

4. The battery cell according to claim 1 , wherein a cross-sectional area of each of the meandering flow paths is 0.5 mm 2 or more and 16 mm 2 or less.

5. The battery cell according to claim 1 , wherein an entire length of each of the meandering flow paths is 300 mm or more and 6000 mm or less.

6. The battery cell according to claim 1 , wherein the meandering flow paths are disposed on the bipolar plate.

7. The battery cell according to claim 1 , wherein each of the meandering flow paths includes a groove.

8. The battery cell according to claim 1 , wherein a permeability of the electrode is 1×10 −13 m 2 or more and 1×10 −10 m 2 or less.

9. The battery cell according to claim 1 , wherein the turn-back section has:
one vertical section arranged between the introduction-side section and the discharge-side section; and
two lateral sections, one of the two lateral sections connecting end portions on the discharge edge side of the introduction-side section and of the vertical section to each other, and the other one of the two lateral sections connecting end portions on the supply edge side of the discharge-side section and of the vertical section to each other.

10. A cell stack comprising the battery cell according to claim 1 .

11. A redox flow battery comprising the cell stack according to claim 10 .

12. A redox flow battery comprising the battery cell according to claim 1 .

Assignees

• Sumitomo Electric Industries

Inventors

• Fujita Hayato
• Kuwabara Masahiro

Classifications

• H01M8/0263 Primary

  having meandering or serpentine paths · CPC title

• H01M4/8631

  Bipolar electrodes · CPC title

• H01M8/026

  characterised by grooves, e.g. their pitch or depth · CPC title

• H01M8/188

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

• H01M8/2418

  Grouping by arranging unit cells in a plane (H01M8/2425, H01M8/244 take precedence) · CPC title