82results about "Power plants using fuel cells" patented technology

A regenerative fuel cell is combined with a combustion engine such as a Pulse Detonation Engine (PDE) to create a closed-loop power generation system. Stored hydrogen and oxygen are used by the regenerative fuel cell, and by the combustion engine, in which the reaction of the hydrogen and oxygen produces water in the gas phase (steam). The steam is used to generate work from a turbine shaft, which is used to drive a propulsion system for the marine vessel. After the steam passes through the turbine, the steam is cooled back to liquid water by a condenser, and stored with the water produced by the regenerative fuel cell. The stored water can be converted back into hydrogen and oxygen by using electrical power external to the closed-loop system. After regeneration of the water into hydrogen and oxygen, the closed-loop power system would be ready for operation again.

A hydrogen generation apparatus for an underwater vehicle is presented, the apparatus including a hydrolysis reaction compartment, a mass of solid lithium hydride disposed in the compartment, inlet and outlet structure for passing sea water through the compartment to generate steam, lithium hydroxide and hydrogen gas, a condenser for condensing out the steam and retaining the condensate and lithium hydroxide, and a tank for collecting the hydrogen gas, the tank having outlet structure for discharging the hydrogen gas to a vehicle propulsion system.

The invention provides a safety protection system and method of a hydrogen fuel cell ship. The safety protection system comprises a hydrogen leakage monitoring alarm module, an emergency switching-offmodule, a ventilation module, an automatic extinguishing module and a monitoring station. The safety and the reliability of the hydrogen fuel cell are improved in the ship application by the real-time monitoring of the concentration of the hydrogen, the early leakage warning, the concentration control, the automatic extinguishing function and the manual extinguishing function; thus, the possibility of hydrogen fuel cell accident is reduced to the utmost extent; and, the staff safety and the property safety on the ship are ensured. The grading chain alarm control method can get the chain alarmgrading information of the cabin precisely, timely and reliably; the super early cabin leakage information alarm saves precious time for cutting off the hydrogen supply and taking ventilation measures; single cabin alarms; each adjacent cabin pre-alarms; the single area alarms; the adjacent areas are separated; thus, the hydrogen is prevented from leaking and spreading; and, the whole ship chainleakage and the fire explosion accident are prevented.

An electric propulsion unit can include a propeller for producing thrust, a motor for driving the propeller, and a fuel cell for supplying electric power to drive the motor. The fuel cell can include a fuel cell stack for generating power and a fuel tank for feeding fuel to the fuel cell stack.

Clean energy powered surfboard having various advantages that make for easy to learn, easy to use, safe, exciting, high performance, environmentally friendly surfing on any ocean wave in the world. The various embodiments include novel motor, turbine, or electric motor generator surfboards comprising hydrogen or electric-powered motors, which can be switch-activated and which drives jet pumps. Energy can be stored as compressed gas, including air and hydrogen. Energy can be stored in novel capacitors that are incorporated in the body of the surfboard. Energy can be generated by solar or water power while surfing or by passing waves, for example, while waiting for a big wave. An output jet provides thrust to catch a wave, to return to the wave breaks, or to avoid a hazard. A novel fin output jet increase stability and maximizes thrust. Self-contained, self-recharging embodiments are low cost, lightweight, safe, and good for the environment.

A method and apparatus for harvesting energy in a fuel cell powered vehicle has first and second energy harvesting elements with at least two ends, the first end being electrically insulated from and in thermal communication with a high temperature reservoir associated with the fuel cell, the second end being electrically insulated from and in thermal communication with a low temperature reservoir associated with an exterior of the vehicle. The apparatus has particular utility for use in watercraft, specifically an underwater vehicle. The energy harvesting apparatus can include an electrical storage means for storing the energy harvested, and/or an electric load for consuming the energy harvested.

The invention discloses a ship power supplying system. The oil consumption of ships can be drastically reduced, the energy utilization rate is increased, the purpose of energy conservation and emission reduction is achieved, and the flexibility of the ship power supplying system is maintained. According to the technical scheme, the system comprises a ship power supplying battery which stores electric energy to power a ship, a power supplying battery monitoring module which is connected to the ship power supplying battery, and monitors and controls the charging and discharging processes of the ship power supplying battery, an inverting unit which is connected to the ship power supplying battery and a load, and converts direct current of the battery into an alternating current used for working of the load and a battery charging component which is connected to the ship power supplying battery and charges the ship power supplying battery.

Technologies such as stealth buoys and underwater gliders need to modify their own buoyancy in order to operate. Strategies such as pumping fluid are typically used to change the device's net volume. This in turn requires a mechanically sophisticated apparatus, increasing the cost of the vehicle while diminishing its reliability. The concept of a buoyancy engine that exploits the enormous volume and pressure changes accompanying the reversible electrochemical interconversion of water to hydrogen and oxygen gases is applied to stealth buoys and underwater gliders.

An electric power control device can have multiple fuel cells, loading devices driven by the electric power supplied by the multiple fuel cells, and a control device for operating the fuel cells in response to the electric power load required by the loading devices. The control device can have an efficiency characteristics recognition device for recognizing the efficiency characteristics for each of the multiple fuel cells, an electric power requirement recognition device for recognizing the electric power required by the loading devices, and a fuel cell operation control device for controlling the operation of the fuel cells so that the efficiency characteristics get closer to the maximum efficiency loading point in response to the recognized electric power requirement.

The invention provides a battery-powered watercraft with a flywheel energy storage system and a use method thereof. A power battery pack for providing power for ship navigation, a power distribution device, an energy management system, a power electronic converter, a flywheel energy storage system, a propulsion system and other electric loads. The power distribution device comprises a main distribution board and a distribution electric board, wherein the power battery pack, the propulsion system, the flywheel energy storage system and the distribution electric board are connected to the main distribution board through different types of power electronic converters, and other electric loads are connected to the distribution electric board. According to the battery-powered watercraft with flywheel energy storage system and use method thereof, the flywheel energy storage technology is applied to the battery-powered ship, the flywheel energy storage system and the power battery pack work in a coordinated mode through the energy management system, the dynamic response speed and stability of the power system of the battery-powered ship are improved, energy recovery during ship braking can be achieved, meanwhile, the power battery pack is protected, and the service lifetime of the power battery pack is prolonged.

A motorized watercraft is a vehicle that is used to transport a user across the water. The motorized watercraft includes a floating board, a control unit, at least one electrically accessible system, a power source, and at least one conduit stringer. The floating board allows a user to float above the water. The at least one electrically accessible system may include a propulsion system, lights, or other features. The control unit is mounted to the deck of the floating board and is used to regulate the speed of the propulsion system and may be used to control lights which are mounted into the floating board. The power source is used to provide the energy needed for running the propulsion system and the lights. The conduit stringer runs through the floating board, strengthening the floating board and providing a channel through which wiring may run.

Embodiments described herein provide for heat reclamation and temperature control of a SOFC for a submersible vehicle. The vehicle includes a SOFC, a hot box that surrounds the SOFC, a cooling loop, and a Stirling engine. The cooling loop has a heat exchanger and a coolant pump. The heat exchanger thermally couples the cooling loop to the water. The Stirling engine has a first end thermally coupled to an interior of the hot box and a second end thermally coupled to the cooling loop. The coolant pump modifies a rate of heat removal from the second end of the Stirling engine based on a pump control signal. A thermal management controller monitors a temperature of a cathode outlet of the SOFC, and modifies the pump control signal to maintain the temperature of the cathode outlet within a temperature range.

The invention discloses a water jet propulsion type underwater spherical heavy-load robot. A spherical shell is divided into an upper power cabin and a lower working cabin through a middle horizontalsealing baffle. A water jet propulsion system is mounted in the upper power cabin; the system comprises a motor, a high-pressure water pump and nozzles which are arranged on the horizontal sealing baffle, the nozzles are uniformly distributed at four corners of the edge part of the horizontal sealing baffle and the nozzles hermetically extend out of the spherical shell; the motor drives and controls the high-pressure water pump to suck external seawater and spray the external seawater through the nozzles, the course and navigational speed of the underwater spherical heavy-load robot are adjustable by controlling the nozzles in different directions to spray water for propulsion, an observation cabin and a ballast water cabin are arranged in the lower working cabin, and the observation cabinis used for observing the seabed environment and transmitting the seabed environment to an offshore console through radio. The volumetric hydraulic pump is adopted to drive medium-high pressure waterjet propulsion, so that the bearing capacity of the underwater robot in operation is greatly improved, and the maneuvering characteristics of the underwater robot are improved through vectorized propulsion of the nozzle.

A submarine boat is provided on which a hydrogen generating device which can supply hydrogen easily to a hydrogen storing means and can generate a hydrogen-containing gas at a low temperature is loaded.

A submarine boat provided with a fuel cell (30) for power generation by supply of hydrogen and oxidizing agent, a hydrogen generating device (10) for generating a gas containing hydrogen to be supplied to the fuel cell, and propelling device driven by electricity generated by the fuel cell, characterized in that the hydrogen generating device is to generate a gas containing hydrogen by decomposing a fuel containing an organic compound, comprising a partition membrane (11), a fuel electrode (12) provided on one surface of the partition membrane, means (16) for supplying a fuel containing the organic compound and water to the fuel electrode, an oxidizing electrode (14) provided on the other surface of the partition membrane, means (17) for supplying an oxidizing agent to the oxidizing electrode, and means for generating and collecting the gas containing hydrogen from the fuel electrode. There are cases: (1) the hydrogen generating device is an open circuit having neither means for withdrawing electric energy to outside from a hydrogen generating cell constituting the hydrogen generating device, nor means for providing electric energy from outside to the hydrogen generating cell; (2) the hydrogen generating device has means for withdrawing electric energy to outside with the fuel electrode serving as a negative electrode and the oxidizing electrode as a positive electrode; and (3) the hydrogen generating device has means for providing electric energy from outside with the fuel electrode serving as cathode and the oxidizing electrode as anode.

A parent-child type boat can have an electric power generating device, such as a fuel cell. The boat can include a parent boat and at least one child boat which is smaller than the parent boat. The parent boat can be equipped with a generating device. The child boat can be equipped with a battery and an electric propulsion device. When the child boat is docked with the parent boat and electrically connected thereto, power can be supplied to at least one of the battery and the electric propulsion device of the child boat from the generating device of the parent boat.

A marine vehicle propulsion system is provided that combines a fuel cell electrical source for an AC propulsion motor for a marine vessel with an electrolyzer and a DC-AC converter. The fuel cell provides power for the AC propulsion motor. When the fuel cell is depleted, the DC-AC converter is disconnected from the AC propulsion motor and is reconnected to an AC power source from a host ship, and the power electronic DC-AC converter is disconnected from the fuel cell and reconnected to the electrolyzer. The fuel cell is replenished by operating the electrolyzer device that runs using DC power from the host ship to separate water into hydrogen gas and oxygen gas. The power electronic drive is operated in reverse to power the electrolyzer from the host ship.

An electric battery for the propulsion of vehicles in an underwater environment, comprising a cylindrical tubular casing defining a main chamber housing an anhydrous electrolyte; intake members to transfer a flow of water from the marine environment to the main chamber, to form, following execution of a water-intake command, a liquid electrolyte; a plurality of electrochemical cells housed in the tubular casing; a heat exchanger receiving as input electrolyte taken from the main chamber and an outlet communicating with an inlet of the electrochemical cells. The heat exchanger is provided in the cylindrical tubular portion and comprises at least one channel made in an inner wall of the cylindrical tubular portion, and extending along a helical path coaxial to the axis of the tubular portion.