Apparatus including electrochemical devices and heat exchanger

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12444757-B2
Application number	US-202218065251-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 13, 2022
Priority date	Dec 20, 2019
Publication date	Oct 14, 2025
Grant date	Oct 14, 2025

Abstract

An apparatus can include a housing, a plurality of electrochemical devices disposed within the housing, and a heat exchanger disposed within the housing. The heat exchanger can be faced with an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of at least one of the plurality of electrochemical devices. The electrochemical devices can include a stack of solid oxide fuel cells, a battery, or a solid oxide electrolyzer cell.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus, comprising:
a housing; and
a plurality of electrochemical devices disposed within the housing, wherein the plurality of electrochemical devices comprise a first electrochemical device, a second electrochemical device, a third electrochemical device, and a fourth electrochemical device, wherein the first, second, third, and fourth electrochemical devices are arranged in a grid;
a first fuel gas outlet chamber disposed between and in fluid communication with the first and second electrochemical devices; and
a second fuel gas outlet chamber disposed between and in fluid communication with the third and fourth electrochemical devices,
wherein a heat exchanger is disposed between the first and second electrochemical devices.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heat exchanger is faced with a gas outlet surface of at least one of the first and second electrochemical devices.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heat exchanger is faced with an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of at least one of the first and second electrochemical devices.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heat exchanger is faced with an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of the first electrochemical devices and an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of the second electrochemical device.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber enclosed in the housing, wherein the oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber is in fluid communication with at least one of the first and second electrochemical devices, and wherein the heat exchanger is disposed within the oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least some of the plurality of electrochemical devices are arranged in a row, wherein an oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber is disposed on one side of the row and in fluid communication with an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of each electrochemical device in the row.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electrochemical devices are arranged in rows and columns, wherein an oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber is disposed between and in fluid communication with electrochemical devices in adjacent rows or in adjacent columns.

8. The apparatus of any one of claim 1 , further comprising a second heat exchanger disposed in the first fuel gas outlet chamber.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first and second fuel gas outlet chamber is separated by a central oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber, wherein the heat exchanger is disposed within the central oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the heat exchanger is faced with an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of each of the first, second, third, and fourth electrochemical devices.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a first oxidant-containing gas inlet chamber in fluid communication with the first and second electrochemical devices; and
a second oxidant-containing gas inlet chamber in fluid communication with the third and fourth electrochemical devices.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein a gas inlet portion of the heat exchanger is adjacent to a surface portion of an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface that has a higher temperature than a remainder of the oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of each of the first, second, third, and fourth electrochemical devices.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the heat exchanger is in fluid communication with the first and second oxidant-containing gas inlet chambers.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the heat exchanger comprises a first branch comprising a fluid flow path extending between the oxidant-containing gas outlet surfaces of the first and third electrochemical devices, wherein the first branch is coupled to one of the first oxidant-containing gas inlet chamber or the second oxidant-containing gas inlet chamber.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the heat exchanger comprises a second branch comprising a fluid flow extending between the oxidant-containing gas outlet surfaces of the second and fourth electrochemical devices, wherein the second branch is coupled to the other one of the first oxidant-containing gas inlet chamber or the second oxidant-containing gas inlet chamber.

16. An apparatus, comprising:
a housing;
a plurality of electrochemical devices disposed within the housing comprising a first electrochemical device and a second electrochemical devices; and
a heat exchanger disposed within a first oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber between the first electrochemical device a second electrochemical devices, a third electrochemical device, and a fourth electrochemical device; and
wherein the first oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber is in fluid communication with an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of the first electrochemical device and an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of the second electrochemical device; and
wherein a second oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber is disposed between the third electrochemical device and the fourth electrochemical device, wherein the second oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber is in fluid communication with an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of the third electrochemical device and an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of the fourth electrochemical device.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , further comprising;
a fuel gas inlet manifold attached to at least one electrochemical device;
a fuel gas outlet manifold attached to at least two electrochemical device; or
any combination thereof.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the first, second, third, and fourth electrochemical devices are disposed in one row.

19. The apparatus of claim 16 , further comprising a fuel gas inlet chamber in fluid communication with at least one, at least two, or each one of the plurality of electrochemical devices.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 , further comprising a fuel gas outlet chamber opposite the fuel gas inlet chamber.

Assignees

• Saint Gobain Ceramics
• Fraunhofer Ges Forschung

Inventors

• Loe Claire
• Takagi Yuto
• Feldman Brian P
• Pietras John D
• Megel Stefan
• Schnetter Jens
• Kusnezoff Mihails

Classifications

• H01M8/2465

  Details of groupings of fuel cells · CPC title

• H01M8/12

  operating at high temperature, e.g. with stabilised ZrO2 electrolyte · CPC title

• Y02E60/36

  Hydrogen production from non-carbon containing sources, e.g. by water electrolysis · CPC title

• Y02E60/50

  Fuel cells · CPC title

• C25B1/04

  by electrolysis of water · CPC title