Fuel cell system consortium

Abstract

This invention relates to a fuel cell system assembly comprising at least two coupled fuel cell systems (A, B) capable of operating at different load points, wherein each fuel cell system (A, B) is connected to a cooling circuit (3A, 3B) with circulating coolant via a coolant inlet line (1A, 1B) and a coolant outlet line (2A, 2B). According to the invention, the cooling circuit (3A, 3B) is coupled via a common return line (4) through which coolant is supplied to the coolant inlet line (1A, 1B), wherein the return section (5) of at least one auxiliary device (5, 6), such as an electric heating device (5) and / or a heat exchanger (6) of the heating device, is connected to the common return line (4).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a fuel cell system assembly. This fuel cell system assembly comprises multiple coupled fuel cell systems capable of operating at different load points. Background Technology

[0002] A fuel cell system oxidizes fuel, such as hydrogen, by combining it with oxygen. In this process, electrons are released and a voltage is generated, which can do work by applying it to a suitable resistor. With a continuous supply of fuel and oxygen, this process can operate for virtually any duration.

[0003] The electrochemical processes operating in a fuel cell system involve losses because a portion of the energy contained in the fuel is converted into heat. This heat must be dissipated using appropriate cooling devices to maintain the system's efficiency and lifespan. The amount of heat to be dissipated depends primarily on the system's operating parameters.

[0004] A common cooling method involves connecting the fuel cell system to a cooling loop. The coolant in this loop is pumped through appropriate channels in the fuel cell system, allowing it to absorb and remove heat as it passes through the system. The absorbed heat is then removed from the coolant using a suitable cooling device, such as a heat transfer device, so that the coolant can be reused to cool the fuel cell system. Auxiliary equipment is typically connected to this cooling loop to utilize the waste heat from the fuel cell system, for example, to heat the passenger compartment and / or to heat the fuel cell system when the external temperature is low.

[0005] If multiple fuel cell systems are coupled into a single unit to cover increased power demands, the required cooling of this system is often considered difficult due to structural space constraints. Furthermore, adding at least one auxiliary device to the cooling system further increases the complexity. Summary of the Invention

[0006] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to simplify the integration of at least one auxiliary device into a complex comprising multiple fuel cell systems. Furthermore, the efficiency of this auxiliary device should be improved.

[0007] To address this task, a fuel cell system assembly according to the present invention is provided. Advantageous embodiments of the invention provide preferred extended configurations.

[0008] A fuel cell system assembly is proposed, comprising at least two coupled fuel cell systems capable of operating at different load points. Each fuel cell system is connected to a cooling loop with circulating coolant via a coolant inlet line and a coolant outlet line. According to the invention, the cooling loop is also coupled, specifically via a common return line through which coolant can be supplied to the coolant inlet line. Furthermore, a return section having at least one auxiliary device is connected to the common return line. This auxiliary device may be, for example, an electric heating device and / or a heating device heat exchanger.

[0009] By coupling the cooling circuits, pipe length is saved, thereby reducing structural space requirements and costs. Simultaneously, the amount of coolant is reduced. If the auxiliary equipment is an electric heating device, it can be used to heat all coupled fuel cell systems during cold start. This is because the coolant heated by the electric heating device enters the common return line via the return section and is then distributed to the coolant input lines of individual fuel cell systems. Thus, the electric heating device can be used as a shutdown heating device for all fuel cell systems. Consequently, the efficiency of the electric heating device is improved.

[0010] Preferably, at least two auxiliary devices are connected to the common return line via the return section. These at least two auxiliary devices can be connected in parallel or in series. Preferably, an electric heating device serves as the first auxiliary device and a heating device heat exchanger serves as the second auxiliary device. In-cabin heating can be achieved, for example, by means of the heating device heat exchanger. For this purpose, the heating device heat exchanger can utilize the waste heat of the fuel cell system. Therefore, preferably, the heating device heat exchanger is connected (at least indirectly) to at least one coolant output line of the fuel cell system on the inlet side.

[0011] In a further embodiment of the invention, the coolant output line of the fuel cell system is proposed to be connected to the corresponding coolant input line of each fuel cell system via branch valves and branch lines. This allows coolant discharged from or heated by the fuel cell system to be introduced into the coolant input line for temperature regulation. Because each fuel cell system is equipped with its own branch valve and its own branch line, this temperature regulation is performed individually, specifically preferably according to the load, for each system. For this purpose, the branch valve is preferably implemented as a 3 / 2 directional valve and / or capable of stepless adjustment.

[0012] Because the branch lines guide the heated coolant, it is recommended as a further measure that the inlet of the at least one auxiliary device be connected to at least one branch line. In this way, the waste heat of the fuel cell system can be utilized to improve the efficiency of the auxiliary device. In this case, the auxiliary device is preferably a heating device, a heat exchanger, and / or an electric heating device. Advantageously, the auxiliary device is connected to all branch lines on the inlet side, thereby utilizing all the waste heat of the fuel cell system.

[0013] To supply a limited amount of heated coolant to the auxiliary equipment, a pump is preferably installed in the inlet section. Here, it can, for example, involve a simple pump configured as a water pump.

[0014] Furthermore, it is preferable to install pumps in the coolant inlet lines of the fuel cell system. A defined amount of coolant is diverted from the common return line and supplied to each individual fuel cell system via a coolant volume flow generated by the pumps. Therefore, the pumps can distribute coolant to different cooling circuits.

[0015] Furthermore, the pumps can draw heated coolant from their respective branch lines. Therefore, preferably, the branch lines of the fuel cell system are each supplied with coolant input lines upstream of the pumps.

[0016] Advantageously, at least one heat transfer device is provided in the cooling circuit or in the common return line. This heat transfer device allows heat to be extracted from the reheated coolant output from the fuel cell system via the coolant output line. If each cooling circuit has a heat transfer device, the device is arranged upstream of the common return line. Alternatively, one heat transfer device can be provided for multiple cooling circuits in the common return line. This further reduces space requirements.

[0017] A limited amount of cooled coolant enters the common return line via the at least one heat transfer device, where it mixes with a limited amount of heated coolant from the branch lines. Attached Figure Description

[0018] The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

[0019] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the fuel cell system assembly of the present invention is shown;

[0020] Figure 2 Show Figure 2 A magnified local area in the auxiliary equipment region connected in the middle; and

[0021] Figure 3 Show Figure 2 Variations of the embodiments shown in the figure. Detailed Implementation

[0022] from Figure 1 An exemplary fuel cell system assembly is presented, comprising two fuel cell systems A and B. Each fuel cell system A and B can operate at different load points. Therefore, the cooling requirements of fuel cell systems A and B can vary. Thus, each fuel cell system A and B is configured with a cooling loop 3A and 3B, wherein in this case, cooling loops 3A and 3B are coupled via a common return line 4. Accordingly, the same coolant circulates in both cooling loops 3A and 3B.

[0023] A first fuel cell system A is connected to a cooling circuit 3A via a first coolant inlet line 1A and a first coolant outlet line 2A. A second fuel cell system B is connected to a cooling circuit 3B via a second coolant inlet line 1B and a second coolant outlet line 2B. A heat transfer device 12A, 12B is provided in each cooling circuit 3A, 3B to remove heat from the heated coolant introduced from fuel cell systems A and B into their respective cooling circuits 3A, 3B via their respective coolant outlet lines 2A, 2B. The heat transfer devices 12A, 12B are received upstream of a common return line 4 in their respective cooling circuits 3A, 3B. Alternatively, the heat transfer device 12A can be arranged in the common return line 4.

[0024] To individually regulate the temperature of the coolant in the respective coolant inlet lines 1A and 1B of fuel cell systems A and B, heated coolant can be introduced from coolant outlet lines 2A and 2B into the coolant inlet lines 1A and 1B. For this purpose, coolant outlet lines 2A and 2B are connected to the corresponding coolant inlet lines 1A and 1B via branch valves 7A and 7B and branch lines 8A and 8B, respectively. Branch lines 8A and 8B are respectively connected upstream of pumps 11A and 11B into their respective coolant inlet lines 1A and 1B. Pumps 11A and 11B can then supply each fuel cell system A and B with the actual amount of coolant required.

[0025] In addition, Figure 1 The fuel cell system assembly shown has two auxiliary devices 6, which are integrated into an auxiliary loop including an inlet section 9 and a return section 5. Figure 2 The auxiliary circuit is shown in a very magnified view. The auxiliary device 6 is connected to the branch pipes 8A and 8B via an inlet 9 having multiple branches. Coolant from the branch pipes 8A and 8B is supplied to the auxiliary device 6 via a pump 10 disposed in the inlet 9. The auxiliary device 6 is connected in parallel in this case, but it can also be connected in series, as exemplarily in… Figure 3 As shown in the diagram. The auxiliary device 6 is connected to the common return pipe 4 via the return section 5 of the auxiliary circuit.

[0026] In this case, auxiliary device 6 is an electric heating device 6.1, which supplies heated coolant to fuel cell systems A and B during cold starts. Therefore, the electric heating device 6.1 can be used as a shutdown heating device for all fuel cell systems A and B. Furthermore, the amount of coolant heated by the electric heating device 6.1 only needs to travel a short distance to fuel cell systems A and B. In addition, only a relatively small amount of coolant needs to be heated, thereby improving the efficiency of the shutdown heating device.

[0027] In this configuration, the second auxiliary device 6 is a heating device heat exchanger 6.2, which utilizes the waste heat from fuel cell systems A and B to heat the passenger compartment. For this purpose, heated coolant from fuel cell systems A and B is supplied to the heating device heat exchanger 6.2 via branch lines 8A and 8B and inlet section 9. In this way, the efficiency of the heating device heat exchanger 6.2 can be improved by utilizing the waste heat from fuel cell systems A and B.

Claims

1. A fuel cell system assembly comprising at least two coupled fuel cell systems (A, B) capable of operating at different load points, wherein each fuel cell system (A, B) is connected via a coolant inlet line (1A, 1B) and a coolant outlet line (2A, 2B) to a cooling circuit (3A, 3B) having circulating coolant, wherein, The cooling circuits (3A, 3B) are coupled via a common return line (4), through which coolant is supplied to the coolant input lines (1A, 1B). A return section (5) having at least two auxiliary devices (6) is connected to the common return line (4). The coolant output lines (2A, 2B) of the fuel cell systems (A, B) are connected to the respective coolant input lines (1A, 1B) of their respective fuel cell systems (A, B) via branch valves (7A, 7B) and branch lines (8A, 8B). Pumps (11A, 11B) are respectively installed in the coolant input lines (1A, 1B) of the fuel cell systems (A, B). The branch lines (8A, 8B) of the fuel cell systems (A, B) are respectively connected to their respective coolant input lines (1A, 1B) upstream of the pumps (11A, 11B).

2. The fuel cell system assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that, The at least two auxiliary devices (6) are connected to the common return pipeline (4) via the return section (5), and the at least two auxiliary devices are connected in parallel or in series.

3. The fuel cell system assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The inlet (9) of the at least two auxiliary devices (6) is connected to at least one branch pipe (8A, 8B).

4. The fuel cell system assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, At least one heat transfer device (12A, 12B) is provided in the cooling circuit (3A, 3B) or in the common return pipe (4).

5. The fuel cell system assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The at least two auxiliary devices (6) are an electric heating device (6.1) and / or a heating device heat exchanger (6.2).

6. The fuel cell system assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that, An additional pump (10) is provided in the inlet section (9).

Images