Easily produced interconnecting module for a high-temperature water electrolysis device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9574278-B2
Application number	US-201214124275-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 12, 2012
Priority date	Jun 16, 2011
Publication date	Feb 21, 2017
Grant date	Feb 21, 2017

Abstract

A fluid interconnecting module for an HTE electrolyzer with a stack of elementary electrolysis cells. The interconnecting module includes plates welded to each other, some of which are partly stamped, some of the plates being perforated to enable high temperature steam H 2 O supply to electrolysis cells and collection of the hydrogen H 2 and oxygen O 2 produced.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A device forming an electrical and fluid interconnector for water electrolysis at high temperature, comprising:
a metallic part delimited by at least one first plane, the metallic part comprising two internal chambers, superposed one on the other relative to the first plane, and a plurality of holes distributed on a surface, a direction through a central axis of each of the plurality of holes being approximately perpendicular to the plane and divided into two groups, of which a first group of holes opens up both onto the first plane and directly into a first chamber of the two chambers that is adjacent to the first plane and a second group of holes opens up both onto the first plane and into a second chamber of the two chambers through channels, the first plane of the interconnector configured to come into mechanical contact with a plane of a cathode of a first elementary electrolysis cell formed by the cathode, an anode, and an electrolyte inserted between the cathode and the anode,
in which the metallic part further comprises first and second partly stamped plates, the first plate being perforated on an unstamped part of the first plate to form the first group of holes and in stamped parts of the first plate to form the second group of holes, the second plate including an unstamped part and stamped parts, each stamped part of the two plates being made to form a truncated cone, the stamped parts of the first plate having shapes complementary to shapes of the stamped parts of the second plate, the first and second plates being assembled to each other by mutual nesting of the stamped parts defining the channels, a space delimited by the unstamped parts of the first and the second plates defining the first chamber adjacent to the first plane, the unstamped part of the first plate defining the first plane.

2. The device forming an electrical and fluid interconnector for water electrolysis at high temperature according to claim 1 , in which the metallic part comprises a third plate, also partly stamped and welded to the second plate, the stamped parts of the third plate not being perforated and being in contact with the second plate to increase stiffness of the interconnector and to enable passage of electrical current, a space delimited by the unstamped parts of the second and third plates defining the second chamber.

3. The device forming an electrical and fluid interconnector for water electrolysis at high temperature according to claim 1 , in which the first plate is made from a plane plate using a punching followed by a stamping.

4. The device forming an electrical and fluid interconnector for water electrolysis at high temperature according to claim 1 , in which the second plate is made from a plane plate using a stamping followed by an embossing.

5. The device forming an electrical and fluid interconnector for water electrolysis at high temperature according to claim 1 , in which the first chamber forms a chamber through which steam is supplied and the second chamber forms a chamber in which hydrogen produced by electrolysis is collected.

6. An interconnecting module comprising:
a first interconnector according to claim 2 ; and
a second electric and fluid interconnector comprising a metal part delimited by at least one second plane, the metallic part comprising a third internal chamber and a plurality of holes distributed on a surface, a direction through a central axis of each of the plurality of holes being approximately perpendicular to the second plane and opening up onto this second plane and also into the third chamber,
in which the metallic part of the second interconnector comprises fourth and fifth plates respectively, the fourth plate being plane and defining the second plane and through which holes distributed on the surface are perforated, while the fifth plate is partly stamped and welded to the fourth plate, the stamped parts of the fifth plate not being perforated and bearing in contact with the fourth plate to increase stiffness of the second interconnector and to enable electrical current to pass, a space delimited by the fourth plate which is plane and the unstamped parts of the fifth plate defining the third chamber onto which the plurality of holes in the second interconnector open up,
in which the third and fifth plates are welded to each other defining the interconnecting module.

7. The interconnecting module according to claim 6 , in which the third and fifth plates have a same shape as each other.

8. The interconnecting module according to claim 6 , in which the third and fifth plates are welded back to back, with their stamped parts individually facing each other to stiffen an entire module and also to enable electrical current to pass from the first plate to the fifth plate.

9. The interconnecting module according to claim 6 , in which all plates are welded by laser transparency.

10. A device for high temperature electrolysis of water comprising:
the interconnecting module according to claim 6 ;
the first elementary electrolysis cell; and
a second elementary electrolysis cell formed by a cathode, an anode, and an electrolyte inserted between the cathode and the anode, the first elementary electrolysis cell being adjacent to the second elementary electrolysis cell;
wherein the interconnecting module is arranged between the first elementary cell and the second elementary electrolysis cell such that the first plane of the first interconnector is in mechanical contact with the cathode of the first elementary electrolysis cell and the second plane of the second interconnector is in mechanical contact with the anode of the second elementary electrolysis cell.

11. A hydrogen production assembly comprising a plurality of electrolysis devices according to claim 10 .

Assignees

• Planque Michel
• Commissariat L Energie Atomique Et Aux Energies Alternatives

Inventors

• Planque Michel

Classifications

• C25B11/061

  Metal or alloy · CPC title

• C25B9/65 Primary

  Means for supplying current; Electrode connections; Electric inter-cell connections · CPC title

• C25B9/19 Primary

  with diaphragms · CPC title

• C25B9/70

  Assemblies comprising two or more cells · CPC title

• C25B1/04

  by electrolysis of water · CPC title