Abstract: The invention relates to a method for improving the water balance of an electrochemical cell stack, comprising:—a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) consisting of an anode, a cathode and an electrolyte arranged therebetween;—an anode gas chamber for distributing the anode gas to the membrane electrode assembly, said anode gas containing hydrogen and being de-humidified or partially humidified;—a cathode gas chamber for distributing the cathode gas to the membrane electrode assembly, said cathode gas containing oxygen;—a cooling chamber for distributing a coolant for cooling the cell stack, said cooling chamber being separated from the cathode gas chamber (3) by a porous separation plate (6).

Abstract: A serially arranged construction of individual fuel cells implements large-scale systems for generating power. The fuel cells are packed with high density but in an exchangeable manner. Only the fuel gas is fed to the block of fuel cells by special conduits and connecting elements whereas the oxidation gas (e.g. air) is fed by an outside pressure difference between the front and rear sides of the fuel cell blocks. A large number of blocks can be mounted on a carrier plate in which fuel gas ducts are integrated to form a reinforcement and to directly feed the fuel gas into the blocks via pipe pieces mounted from the outside.