Combined gas turbine engine and fuel cell

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2024133340-A1
Application number	US-202318379728-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 12, 2023
Priority date	Oct 23, 2022
Publication date	Apr 25, 2024
Grant date	—

Abstract

A combined gas turbine engine and hydrogen fuel cell system includes a hydrogen fuelled gas turbine engine, a cryogenic liquid hydrogen fuel tank, a first fuel offtake configured and arranged to divert a portion of hydrogen fuel from a main fuel conduit, a burner configured and arranged to burn the portion of hydrogen fuel diverted from the main fuel conduit, a heat exchanger configured and arranged to transfer heat from exhaust gasses produced by the burner to hydrogen fuel in the main fuel conduit, a second fuel offtake arranged to divert a portion of hydrogen fuel from the main fuel conduit downstream of the heat exchanger, and a hydrogen fuel cell configured and arranged to produce electric power using hydrogen fuel diverted from the second fuel offtake.

First claim

1 . A combined gas turbine engine and hydrogen fuel cell system comprising:
a hydrogen fuelled gas turbine engine; a cryogenic liquid hydrogen fuel tank; a first fuel offtake configured and arranged to divert a portion of hydrogen fuel from a main fuel conduit; a burner configured and arranged to burn the portion of hydrogen fuel diverted from the main fuel conduit; a heat exchanger configured and arranged to transfer heat from exhaust gasses produced by the burner to hydrogen fuel in the main fuel conduit; a second fuel offtake arranged to divert a portion of hydrogen fuel from the main fuel conduit downstream of the heat exchanger; and a hydrogen fuel cell configured and arranged to produce electric power using hydrogen fuel diverted from the second fuel offtake.

2 . A system according to claim 1 , wherein the hydrogen fuel cell comprises a cooling system comprising a closed cooling loop.

3 . A system according to claim 2 , wherein the closed cooling loop comprises a first fuel cell heat exchanger configured to transmit waste heat from the hydrogen fuel cell to a coolant of the closed cooling loop.

4 . A system according to claim 3 , wherein the closed cooling loop comprises a second fuel cell heat exchanger arranged to transmit waste heat from the coolant of the closed cooling loop to hydrogen fuel.

5 . A system according to claim 4 , wherein the second fuel cell heat exchanger is provided upstream of the fuel cell and downstream of the second fuel offtake in fuel cell fuel flow.

6 . A system according to claim 5 , wherein a third fuel offtake is provided downstream of the second fuel cell heat exchanger in fuel cell fuel flow, and is configured to offtake a portion of the hydrogen fuel diverted from the second fuel offtake to fuel the hydrogen fuel cell, and divert the remaining portion of the hydrogen fuel to a bypass line.

7 . A system according to claim 5 , wherein a third fuel cell heat exchanger is provided in the bypass line downstream of the third fuel offtake, and is configured to exchange heat between hydrogen fuel in the bypass line and a fuel cell air intake line.

8 . A system according to claim 6 , wherein the bypass line comprises an outflow which exhausts into the main fuel conduit downstream of the second fuel offtake in gas turbine engine fuel flow.

9 . A system according to claim 1 , wherein the system comprises a burner exhaust turbine arranged to be driven by exhaust from the burner.

10 . A system according to claim 9 , wherein the burner exhaust turbine ( 240 ) is configured to drive a fuel cell air compressor ( 250 ) configured to provide air to the hydrogen fuel cell ( 260 ).

11 . A system according to claim 1 , wherein the gas turbine engine comprises a bleed air system configured to bleed compressed air from a gas turbine engine core compressor and supply it to the burner to burn with the portion of hydrogen fuel diverted from the main fuel conduit.

12 . A system according to claim 11 , wherein the bleed air system is configured to supply air to the hydrogen fuel cell.

Assignees

• Rolls Royce Plc

Inventors

• Grech Nicholas
• Palmer Chloe J
• Tacconi Jacopo

Classifications

• F02C6/04 Primary

  Gas-turbine plants providing heated or pressurised working fluid for other apparatus, e.g. without mechanical power output (F02C6/18 takes precedence {; for a fluidised-bed combustor F02C3/205}) · CPC title

• F02C7/224

  Heating fuel before feeding to the burner · CPC title

• F02C9/40

  specially adapted to the use of a special fuel or a plurality of fuels · CPC title

• H01M8/04111

  using a compressor turbine assembly · CPC title

• F05D2220/323

  for aircraft propulsion, e.g. jet engines · CPC title