Fuel cell plate
The fuel cell plate optimizes reagent and cooling circuits and orifice placement to reduce size and enhance thermal management, addressing inefficiencies in existing designs.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- FR2024000098
- Authority / Receiving Office
- FR · FR
- Patent Type
- Utility models
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-01-05
- Publication Date
- 2026-01-02
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-01-05
AI Technical Summary
Existing fuel cell designs face challenges in balancing fluid circulation circuits, electrochemical reaction areas, and thermal management, leading to increased size and inefficient thermal management due to placement of connection orifices and fluid circulation circuits.
A fuel cell plate design with distinct reactive and cooling faces, featuring optimized reagent and cooling circuits, and strategic placement of orifices to minimize overall surface area while maintaining efficient thermal management and space for glue joints.
The design achieves a reduced fuel cell footprint with optimal thermal management and sufficient space for assembly, without compromising cooling efficiency.
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Abstract
Description
Title of the invention: Fuel cell plate
[0001] The present invention relates to a fuel cell plate, a fuel cell and a fuel cell.
[0002] The invention finds a particularly advantageous application with fuel cells whose plates are machined. The invention finds a particularly advantageous application with graphite plates.
[0003] In a manner known per se, a fuel cell is an electrochemical device which makes it possible to convert chemical energy into electrical energy from a fuel, generally dihydrogen, and an oxidant, generally dioxygen or a gas containing it such as air, the product of the reaction being water accompanied by a release of heat and a production of electricity.
[0004] According to a known configuration, the plates have raised and recessed areas on each face, the recesses being obtained by machining the plate. These raised and recessed areas are used in particular for creating circuits for the circulation of fluids.
[0005] When designing the geometry of the plate, it is necessary to find a good compromise to accommodate the fluid circulation circuits, forming in particular the active surface, but also the areas which are not dedicated to the electrochemical reaction, namely: collectors, joint grooves, connection orifices between collector and active surface.
[0006] It is also necessary to provide space for the passage of a joint or a bead of glue for the assembly of two plates together, to form a bipolar plate.
[0007] A known solution is to move the connecting ports away from the periphery of the fluid circulation circuits. One problem is that such an arrangement unnecessarily increases the overall surface area of the plate, which significantly increases the size of the fuel cell.
[0008] Conversely, by bringing the connection orifices closer to the periphery of the fluid circulation circuits, the overall surface area of the cooling circuit is reduced compared to that of the reactive circuit and thermal management is affected.
[0009] The present invention aims to effectively overcome these drawbacks by proposing a proton exchange membrane fuel cell plate, the plate comprising a first edge, a second edge opposite the first edge, a third edge, and a fourth edge opposite the third edge. The plate has a reactive face and a cooling face opposite each other. The reactive face is intended to face a Membrane Electrode Assembly and is provided with raised and recessed areas forming a reactive circuit for the circulation of a reactive fluid. The reactive circuit has an inlet opening into a discharging orifice. distribution, the plate comprising a reagent inlet manifold orifice separate from the distribution orifice, the reagent inlet manifold orifice being arranged to supply reagent to the inlet of the reagent circuit via an inlet passage connecting the reagent inlet manifold orifice and the distribution orifice, the reagent circuit comprising an outlet leading to a reagent discharge orifice, the plate comprising a reagent outlet manifold orifice separate from the discharge orifice, the outlet manifold orifice being arranged to recover the reagent at the outlet of the reagent circuit via an outlet passage connecting the outlet manifold orifice and the discharge orifice, the reagent circuit comprising a plurality of reagent cavities formed on the reactive face,the cooling face being in particular intended to face the cooling face of another fuel cell plate, the cooling face being provided with reliefs and hollows forming a cooling circuit for the circulation of a cooling fluid, the cooling circuit comprising a plurality of cooling cavities and a plurality of teeth, two adjacent cooling cavities being separated from each other by one of the teeth, the plurality of cooling cavities comprising a first cooling cavity and a last cooling cavity each forming at least in part the periphery of the cooling circuit, the first cooling cavity comprising a first axial portion extending along a first axis and a second axial portion extending along a second axis orthogonal to the first axis,the last cooling cavity comprising a third axial portion extending along the first axis and a fourth axial portion extending along the second axis, the plurality of reagent cavities comprising a first reagent cavity and a last reagent cavity each forming at least in part the periphery of the reagent circuit, the first reagent cavity comprising a fifth axial portion extending along the second axis and a sixth axial portion extending along the first axis, the last reagent cavity comprising a seventh axial portion extending along the first axis and an eighth axial portion extending along the second axis, the plate being configured such that there is a first plane orthogonal to the plane in which the plate extends, the plate being configured such that: , - the first plane cutting the first axial portion in the direction of the first axis, said first plane being located between the sixth axial portion and a portion of the reagent cavity adjacent to the sixth axial portion; - the first plane cutting the second axial portion in the direction of the second axis, said first plane being located between the eighth axial portion and a portion of the reagent cavity adjacent to the eighth axial portion; - the first plane cutting the third axial portion in the direction of the first axis, said first plane being located between the seventh axial portion and a portion of the reagent cavity adjacent to the seventh axial portion; - the first plane cutting the fourth axial portion in the direction of the second axis, said first plane being located between the fifth axial portion and a portion of the reagent cavity adjacent to the fifth axial portion; - the first plane cutting, in the direction of the first axis, an axial portion of the first cooling cavity located opposite the distribution orifice, said first plane being separated from the first reagent cavity by at least two reagent cavities.
[0010] This allows the plate to have a reduced footprint while still providing sufficient space for a glue joint, adhesive, or weld to fix two plates together, while avoiding recessed distribution and / or drainage ports relative to the active surface. This is achieved without significantly reducing the cell's cooling efficiency.
[0011] The invention thus makes it possible to allow optimal thermal management while reducing the size of the fuel cell.
[0012] According to one embodiment, the plate is machined.
[0013] According to one embodiment, the plate is made of machined graphite or machined expanded graphite or machined metal.
[0014] Alternatively, the plate is made of a molded material, for example being made of molded composite graphite.
[0015] According to one embodiment, the periphery of the cooling circuit is configured to delimit a surface strictly smaller than that delimited by the periphery of the reagent circuit.
[0016] According to one embodiment, the periphery of the reagent circuit is configured to delimit a surface substantially equal to the surface of a diffusion layer of the Membrane Electrode Assembly.
[0017] According to one embodiment, the periphery of the reagent circuit is configured to delimit an area less than 99.9% of the area of a diffusion layer of the Membrane Electrode Assembly.
[0018] According to one embodiment, the first axis extends along the axis in which the plate extends.
[0019] According to one embodiment, the first plane cutting, in the direction of the first axis, an axial portion of the last cooling cavity located opposite the discharge orifice, said first plane is separated from the last reagent cavity by at least two reagent cavities.
[0020] According to one embodiment, the distribution orifice is disposed relative to the periphery of the reagent circuit which is opposite it, at a distance less than the width of two reagent cavities.
[0021] According to one embodiment, the distribution orifice is disposed with respect to the periphery of the reagent circuit which is opposite the latter, at a distance: - less than the width of two reagent cavities, and - greater than 1 mm.
[0022] According to one embodiment, the evacuation orifice is disposed with respect to the periphery of the reagent circuit which is opposite the latter, at a distance less than the width of two reagent cavities.
[0023] According to one embodiment, the evacuation orifice is disposed with respect to the periphery of the reagent circuit which is opposite the latter, at a distance: - less than the width of two reagent cavities, and - greater than 1 mm.
[0024] According to one embodiment, the first edge and the second edge are each a longitudinal edge of the plate.
[0025] According to one embodiment, the third edge and the fourth edge are each a transverse edge of the plate.
[0026] According to one embodiment, the width of each cavity of the plurality of cooling cavities is constant, at least on the portions extending axially along the first axis and on the portions extending axially along the second axis.
[0027] According to one embodiment, the width of each tooth is constant, over all portions extending axially along the second axis.
[0028] According to one embodiment, the cooling circuit is configured such that there is at least one of the teeth whose width is variable between a first axial segment and a second axial segment, the first and second segments extending along the first axis and such that there is at least one other of the teeth whose width is constant at least when it extends axially along the first axis.
[0029] According to one embodiment, the first segment is adjacent to the first cavity.
[0030] According to one embodiment, the discharge port, the outlet collector port, the reagent inlet collector port and the reagent distribution port are each formed by a hole through the plate.
[0031] The invention further relates to a bipolar fuel cell plate comprising two plates as described above, the plates being assembled to each other via their cooling face, in particular by welding or gluing.
[0032] The invention further relates to a fuel cell, in particular a proton exchange membrane fuel cell, the cell comprising two plates as described above and a Membrane Electrode Assembly interposed in sandwich between the plates.
[0033] The invention further relates to a fuel cell, in particular a membrane fuel cell proton exchanger, comprising a stack of cells as described above.
[0034] The invention will be better understood upon reading the following description and examining the accompanying figures. These figures are given only to illustrate, but in no way limit, the invention.
[0035] [Fig-1] is a schematic representation of the reactive face of a plate according to the invention; and
[0036] [Fig.2] is a schematic representation of the cooling face of the plate of the [Fig. 1].
[0037] With reference to [Fig. 1] and [Fig. 2], a fuel cell plate 1 is shown. The plate 1 has a reactive face 16 and a cooling face 10 opposite each other.
[0038] Fig. 1 represents the reactive face 16 of the plate 1 while Fig. 2 represents the cooling face 10 of the plate 1.
[0039] The fuel cell plate 1 is of the proton exchange membrane type.
[0040] The plate 1 has a first edge 21, a second edge 20 opposite the first edge 21, a third edge 19, a fourth edge 18 opposite the third edge 19.
[0041] The reactive face 16 is intended to face a Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA).
[0042] The reactive face 16 is provided with raised and recessed areas forming a reagent circuit 11 for the circulation of a reactive fluid. The reagent circuit 11 has an inlet opening into a distribution orifice 17.
[0043] The plate 1 includes a reagent inlet collector orifice 14 separate from the distribution orifice 17. The reagent inlet collector orifice 14 is arranged to supply reagent to the inlet of the reagent circuit 11 via an inlet passage 13 which connects the reagent inlet collector orifice 14 and the distribution orifice 17.
[0044] The reagent circuit 11 has an outlet opening into a reagent discharge orifice 7.
[0045] The plate 1 includes a reagent outlet collector orifice 4 separate from the discharge orifice 7. The outlet collector orifice 4 is arranged to recover the reagent at the outlet of the reagent circuit 11 via an outlet passage 5 which connects the outlet collector orifice 4 and the discharge orifice 7.
[0046] The reagent circuit 11 comprises a plurality of reagent cavities 27 provided on the reactive face 16.
[0047] The cooling face 10 is intended to face the cooling face 10 of another fuel cell plate 1.
[0048] The cooling face 10 is provided with reliefs and hollows forming a circuit of cooling 3 for the circulation of a cooling fluid.
[0049] The cooling circuit 3 comprises a plurality of cooling cavities 28 and a plurality of teeth 2. Two adjacent cooling cavities 28 are separated from each other by one of the teeth 2.
[0050] The plurality of cooling cavities 28 comprises a first cooling cavity 8 and a last cooling cavity 9, each forming at least in part the periphery of the cooling circuit 6.
[0051] The first cooling cavity 8 comprises a first axial portion 31 extending along a first axis 22 and a second axial portion 32 extending along a second axis 23 orthogonal to the first axis 22. As shown in [Fig.1] and [Fig.2], the first axis 22 extends along the axis in which the plate 1 extends. The second axis 23 extends perpendicularly to the first axis 22.
[0052] The last cooling cavity 9 has a third axial portion 33 extending along the first axis 22 and a fourth axial portion 34 extending along the second axis 23.
[0053] The plurality of reagent cavities 27 comprises a first reagent cavity 41 and a last reagent cavity 42, each forming at least in part the periphery of the reagent circuit 12.
[0054] The first reagent cavity 41 has a fifth axial portion 35 extending along the second axis 23 and a sixth axial portion 36 extending along the first axis 22.
[0055] The last reagent cavity 42 has a seventh axial portion 37 extending along the first axis 22 and an eighth axial portion 38 extending along the second axis 23.
[0056] Plate 1 is configured such that there exists a first plane orthogonal to the plane in which plate 1 extends, plate 1 being configured such that: - the first plane cutting the first axial portion 31 in the direction of the first axis 22, said first plane being located between the sixth axial portion 36 and a portion of the reagent cavity adjacent to the sixth axial portion 36; - the first plane cutting the second axial portion 32 in the direction of the second axis 23, said first plane being located between the eighth axial portion 38 and a portion of the reagent cavity adjacent to the eighth axial portion 38; - the first plane cutting the third axial portion 33 in the direction of the first axis 22, said first plane being located between the seventh axial portion 37 and a portion of the reagent cavity adjacent to the seventh axial portion 37; - the first plane intersecting the fourth axial portion 34 in the direction of the second axis 23, said first plane being situated between the fifth portion axial 35 and a portion of the reagent cavity adjacent to the fifth axial portion 35; - the first plane cutting, in the direction of the first axis 22, an axial portion of the first cooling cavity 8 located opposite the distribution orifice 17, said first plane being separated from the first reagent cavity 41 by at least two reagent cavities 27.
[0057] The first plane cutting, in the direction of the first axis 22, an axial portion of the last cooling cavity 9 located opposite the discharge orifice 7, said first plane is separated from the last reagent cavity 42 by at least two reagent cavities 27.
[0058] The distribution orifice 17 is disposed with respect to the periphery of the reagent circuit 12 which is opposite the latter, at a distance less than the width of two reagent cavities 27.
[0059] The discharge orifice 7 is disposed with respect to the periphery of the reagent circuit 12 which is opposite the latter, at a distance less than the width of two reagent cavities 27.
[0060] The width of each cavity of the plurality of cooling cavities 28 is constant, at least on the portions extending axially along the first axis 22 and on the portions extending axially along the second axis 23.
[0061] The width of each tooth 2 is constant, over all portions extending axially along the second axis 23.
[0062] The cooling circuit 3 is configured such that there is at least one of the teeth 2 having a variable width between a first axial segment and a second axial segment, the first axial segment and the second axial segment extending along the first axis 22 and such that there is at least one other of the teeth 2 having a constant width at least when extending axially along the first axis 22.
Claims
Demands
1. A proton exchange membrane fuel cell plate (1), the plate (1) having a first edge (21), a second edge (20) opposite the first edge (21), a third edge (19), a fourth edge (18) opposite the third edge (19), the plate (1) having a reactive face (16) and a cooling face (10) opposite each other, the reactive face (16) being intended to face an Electrode Membrane Assembly and being provided with reliefs and hollows forming a reactive circuit (11) for the circulation of a reactive fluid, the reactive circuit (11) having an inlet opening into a distribution orifice (17), the plate (1) having a reactive inlet collector orifice (14) distinct from the distribution orifice (17),The reagent inlet manifold orifice (14) is arranged to supply reagent to the inlet of the reagent circuit (11) via an inlet passage (13) connecting the reagent inlet manifold orifice (14) and the distribution orifice (17). The reagent circuit (11) has an outlet leading to a reagent discharge orifice (7). The plate (1) has a reagent outlet manifold orifice (4) separate from the discharge orifice (7). The outlet manifold orifice (4) is arranged to collect the reagent at the outlet of the reagent circuit (11) via an outlet passage (5) connecting the outlet manifold orifice (4) and the discharge orifice (7). The reagent circuit (11) has a plurality of reagent cavities (27) formed on the reagent face (16). The cooling face (10) is intended, in particular, to face the cooling face (10) of another plate. (1) of fuel cell,the cooling face (10) being provided with reliefs and hollows forming a cooling circuit (3) for the circulation of a cooling fluid, the cooling circuit (3) comprising a plurality of cooling cavities (28) and a plurality of teeth (2), two adjacent cooling cavities (28) being separated from each other by one of the teeth (2), the plurality of cooling cavities (28) comprising a first cooling cavity (8) and a last cooling cavity (9) each forming at least in part the periphery of the cooling circuit (6), the first cooling cavity (8) comprising a first axial portion (31) extending along a first axis (22) and a second axial portion (32) extending along a, second axis (23) orthogonal to the first axis (22), the last cooling cavity (9) comprising a third axial portion (33) extending along the first axis (22) and a fourth axial portion (34) extending along the second axis (23), the plurality of reagent cavities (27) comprising a first reagent cavity (41) and a last reagent cavity (42) each forming at least in part the periphery of the reagent circuit (12), the first reagent cavity (41) comprising a fifth axial portion (35) extending along the second axis (23) and a sixth axial portion (36) extending along the first axis (22), the last reagent cavity (42) comprising a seventh axial portion (37) extending along the first axis (22) and an eighth axial portion (38) extending along the second axis (23), the plate (1) being configured such that there exists a first plane orthogonal to the plane in which the plate (1) extends,plate (1) being configured such that: - the first plane cutting the first axial portion (31) in the direction of the first axis (22), said first plane being located between the sixth axial portion (36) and a portion of the reagent cavity adjacent to the sixth axial portion (36); - the first plane cutting the second axial portion (32) in the direction of the second axis (23), said first plane being located between the eighth axial portion (38) and a portion of the reagent cavity adjacent to the eighth axial portion (38); - the first plane cutting the third axial portion (33) in the direction of the first axis (22), said first plane being located between the seventh axial portion (37) and a portion of the reagent cavity adjacent to the seventh axial portion (37); - the first plane cutting the fourth axial portion (34) in the direction of the second axis (23), said first plane being located between the fifth axial portion (35) and a portion of the reagent cavity adjacent to the fifth axial portion (35); - the first plane cutting, in the direction of the first axis (22), an axial portion of the first cooling cavity (8) located opposite the distribution orifice (17), said first plane being separated from the first reagent cavity (41) by at least two reagent cavities (27).
2. Plate according to the preceding claim, the first cutting plane, in the direction of the first axis (22), an axial portion of the last cooling cavity (9) located opposite the discharge port (7), said first plane being separated from the last reagent cavity (42) by at least two reagent cavities (27).
3. Plate (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, the distribution orifice (17) being disposed with respect to the periphery of the reagent circuit (12) which is opposite the latter, at a distance less than the width of two reagent cavities (27).
4. Plate (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, the discharge orifice (7) being disposed with respect to the periphery of the reagent circuit (12) which is opposite the latter, at a distance less than the width of two reagent cavities (27).
5. Plate (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, the width of each cavity of the plurality of cooling cavities (28) being constant, at least on the portions extending axially along the first axis (22) and on the portions extending axially along the second axis (23).
6. Plate (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, the width of each tooth (2) being constant, on all portions extending axially along the second axis (23).
7. Plate (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, the cooling circuit (3) being configured such that there is at least one of the teeth (2) whose width is variable between a first axial segment and a second axial segment, the first and second segments extending along the first axis (22) and such that there is at least one other of the teeth (2) whose width is constant at least when extending axially along the first axis (22).
8. Fuel cell, in particular proton exchange membrane fuel cell, the cell comprising two plates (1) according to any one of the preceding claims and a Membrane Electrode Assembly sandwiched between the plates (1).
9. Fuel cell, in particular with a proton exchange membrane, comprising a stack of cells according to the preceding claim.