Fuel cell comprising at least two stacked printed circuit boards with a plurality of interconnected fuel cell units

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018233765-A1
Application number	US-201815949997-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 10, 2018
Priority date	Mar 1, 2011
Publication date	Aug 16, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

A fuel cell comprising at least two stacked fuel cell boards ( 22 ) which each comprise a membrane of substantially gas impervious electrolyte material and at least two electrode pairs wherein the anode and cathode of each said electrode pair are arranged on respective faces of said membrane. An electrode of each pair of electrodes is connected to an electrode of an adjacent pair of electrodes by a through-membrane connection ( 13 ) or by an external connection on a Printed Circuit Board, comprising an electrically conductive region of said electrolyte material. A method for forming the through-membrane electrical connections in the electrolyte membrane is also disclosed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A fuel cell comprising at least two fuel cell boards, each individually switchable by providing at least one switch on each of said fuel cell boards.

2 . The fuel cell as claimed in claim 1 , wherein when the fuel cell boards in the fuel cell are stacked, adjacent fuel cell boards in the stack are separated by an insulating spacer.

3 . The fuel cell as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the spacer has integrated coolant conduits which run substantially perpendicular to planar surfaces of the fuel cell boards.

4 . The fuel cell as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the spacer is shaped to assist the distribution of reactants.

5 . The fuel cell as claimed in claim 2 , further comprising water supply or extraction conduits.

6 . The fuel cell as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each fuel cell board comprises a plurality of anodes and a plurality of cathodes and wherein on each face of each fuel cell board, the sequence of anodes and cathodes alternates such that each anode, except the anode on edge of the fuel cell board, lies between two cathodes, and each cathode, except the cathode on edge of the fuel cell board, lies between two anodes, and the cathodes of two adjacent fuel cell boards lie substantially opposite each other.

7 . A fuel cell as claimed in claim 6 , wherein a first reactant is delivered to a pair of anodes on a first and second adjacent fuel cell boards by means of a single first reactant distribution channel on one reactant distribution layer, and a second reactant is delivered to a pair of cathodes on said first and second adjacent fuel cell boards by means of a single second reactant distribution channel on said reactant distribution layer.

8 . The fuel cell as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each face of each fuel cell board carries either only anodes or only cathodes, and the fuel cell boards in the fuel cell are arranged so that the anodes of two adjacent fuel cell boards lie substantially opposite each other, and the cathodes of two adjacent fuel cell boards lie substantially opposite each other.

9 . A method of controlling the power output profile of a fuel cell having at least two fuel cell boards comprising selectively switching one or more fuel cell board.

10 . A method as claimed in claim 9 , comprising the step of switching fuel cell boards according to a duty cycle.

11 . A method as claimed in claim 9 , further comprising depositing a corrosion resistant layer onto the surface of a current collection and/or distribution layer of a fuel cell.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the corrosion resistant layer is formed by applying an ink comprising a conducting polymer or a conductive metal oxide, or carbon conductive ink, to the surface of a current collection and/or distribution layer.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the conducting polymer is selected from polyaniline, polypyrrole, polythiophene and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT).

14 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the conductive metal oxide is selected from Ti4O7; Ti0.9Nb0.1O2; or tin oxide doped with antimony, fluorine, or indium.

15 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the conductive polymer has a perfluorinated substituent, especially where that perfluorinated substituent is a perfluorinated aliphatic chain, or contains perfluorinated aliphatic chains.

16 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the monomers forming the conductive polymer comprise a perfluorinated alkyl chain.

17 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the surface of a current collection and/or distribution layer undergoes direct derivatisation of its surface, utilising a silane or diazo reagent to form a corrosion resistant layer.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the silane or diazo reagent comprises perfluoro properties.

19 . The method of claim 18 wherein the silane or diazo reagent comprises a pefluorinated benzene, or an aryl ring further comprising a perfluorinated alkyl chain.

20 . The method of claim 10 , wherein a combination of corrosion resistant layers is applied to the surface of a current collection and/or distribution layer, the method comprising the step of applying an ink to the surface of a current collection and/or distribution layer, and/or electrodepositing a conductive polymer onto the surface of a current collection and/or distribution layer, and/or direct derivatisation of the surface of a current collection and/or distribution layer, with a silane or diazo reagent.

21 . The fuel cell of claim 1 , wherein each fuel cell board comprises a printed circuit board.

22 . A fuel cell comprising at least two fuel cell boards, each individually switchable by providing at least one switch on each of said fuel cell boards, wherein when the fuel cell boards in the fuel cell are stacked, adjacent fuel cell boards in the stack are separated by an insulating spacer, wherein the spacer has integrated coolant conduits which run substantially perpendicular to planar surfaces of the fuel cell boards.

23 . The fuel cell as claimed in claim 17 , wherein each fuel cell board comprises a plurality of anodes and a plurality of cathodes and wherein on each face of each fuel cell board, the sequence of anodes and cathodes alternates such that each anode, except the anode on edge of the fuel cell board, lies between two cathodes, and each cathode, except the cathode on edge of the fuel cell board, lies between two anodes, and the cathodes of two adjacent fuel cell boards lie substantially opposite each other.

24 . The fuel cell as claimed in claim 17 , wherein each face of each fuel cell board carries either only anodes or only cathodes, and the fuel cell boards in the fuel cell are arranged so that the anodes of two adjacent fuel cell boards lie substantially opposite each other, and the cathodes of two adjacent fuel cell boards lie substantially opposite each other.

Assignees

• Imperial Innovations Ltd
• Ucl Business Plc

Inventors

• Brett Daniel John Leslie
• Kucernak Anthony Robert John

Classifications

• H01M8/2483 Primary

  characterised by internal manifolds · CPC title

• H01M8/0263

  having meandering or serpentine paths · CPC title

• H01M8/1007

  with both reactants being gaseous or vaporised (H01M8/12 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01M8/0297

  Arrangements for joining electrodes, reservoir layers, heat exchange units or bipolar separators to each other (H01M8/0271 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01M8/0269

  Separators, collectors or interconnectors including a printed circuit board · CPC title