Abstract: The invention relates to a vibration table (1) comprising a table plate (2) and a drive (3), wherein the drive (3) comprises four scissor mechanisms (41, 42, 43, 44), each having a first (41.1, 42.1, 43.1, 44.1) and a second limb (41.2, 42.2, 43.2 and 44.2) and a hub (41.3, 42.3, 43.3, 44.3), wherein the hubs (41.3, 42.3, 43.3, 44.3) are fastened to the table plate (2) and the first limb (41.1, 42.1, 43.1, 44.1) can be moved independently of the second limb (41.2, 42.2, 43.2, 44.2).

Abstract: A porous transport layer has a plurality of sintered porous layers with a permeability for gaseous and liquid substances. The multilayer porous transport layer is assembled between a bipolar plate and a catalyst layer of an electrochemical cell. A first and second porous layer have irregularly shaped particles of a conductive material. The mean particle size decreases from layer to layer from the bipolar plate towards the catalyst layer, and the irregularly shape particles are defined by having an irregularity parameter IP=D/d smaller than 5 and a roundness RN=P2/4?A greater than 1.2. D is the diameter of the smallest possible circle surrounding a 2D projection of the particle; d is the diameter of the biggest possible circle laying completely inside the 2D projection of the particle; P is the perimeter of the 2D projection of the particle; and A is the area of the 2D projection of the particle.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing gas diffusion layers (GDL) with a defined pattern of hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions is used to produce electrically conductive porous materials with distributed wettability. The method includes a) Coating the external and internal surfaces of a porous base material made of carbon fiber or Titanium with Fluoroethylene-Propylene (FEP) and/or perfluoroalkoxy (PFA) and/or Ethylene-Tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) or any other hydrophobic polymer; b) Exposing the coated material to irradiation through a blocking mask such that only parts of the coated porous material are exposed; and c) Immersing the previously exposed material in a monomer solution and heating to a temperature higher than 45° C., resulting in the graft co-polymerization of monomers on the FEP layer.

Abstract: A method of operating a PEM fuel cell including an anode feed circuit and a cathode feed circuit for feeding of an anode side with a reactant gas and for feeding a cathode side with a cathode gas. A shut-down mode for shutting down an electricity generating operation of the fuel system includes decreasing the supply of reactant gas and cathode gas in response of a shut-down signal, monitoring an output voltage of at least one cell of a fuel cell stack, monitoring the reactant gas pressure and the cathode gas pressure, electrically shunting of the at least one fuel cell in response of the output voltage reaching a predefined voltage level, at least reducing the pressure of the anode side to a predefined pressure level by means of at least one pump, and filling and/or flushing of at least the anode side with an inert gas.

Abstract: The method for limiting the output voltage of a PEM fuel cell system operating in, or near, zero load conditions, in such a way as to minimize degradation of performance over time, comprises: supplying a hydrogen stream to the anode of the fuel cell; supplying an oxygen stream to the cathode of the fuel cell; monitoring an output voltage of the fuel cell; monitoring a hydrogen pressure in the fuel cell; monitoring an oxygen pressure in the fuel cell; limiting the hydrogen stream and the oxygen stream while actuating controllable recirculating pumps for the hydrogen and the oxygen in such a way as to bring and maintain the hydrogen and oxygen pressures below 1 barabsolute while maintaining the hydrogen pressure between 70 and 130% of the oxygen pressure, so that the output voltage remains below 0.90 volts.

Abstract: The fuel cell system includes: at least one fuel cell adapted to generate electrical energy from a fuel gas and an oxidizer gas; a fuel feed duct provided for supplying the fuel cell with fuel gas, the fuel feed duct including an upstream part and a downstream part; a Venturi effect ejector including a high pressure inlet, a low pressure inlet and an outlet, the upstream part of the fuel feed duct being connected to the high pressure inlet of the ejector and the downstream part extending between the ejector outlet and the fuel cell; an off-gas recirculation duct extending between the fuel cell and the low pressure ejector inlet so that, in the presence of a stream of fuel gas coming from the upstream part of the fuel feed duct and passing through the ejector, the ejector draws up off-gas from the recirculation duct and ejects it into the downstream part mixed with the stream of fuel gas coming from the upstream part; a control circuit and a valve arranged in the upstream part of the fuel feed duct and arra

Abstract: The present invention concerns a separator plate for use in a fuel cell stack with a substantially circular or oval main surface wherein a fluid flow path is defined by a plurality of channels extending substantially in parallel to each other and leading a fluid from a fluid supply port to a fluid discharge port. Adjacent channels merge such as to decrease the number of parallel channels from the supply port to the discharge port, thereby decreasing a cross sectional area of the flow path.

Abstract: A method of operating a PEM fuel cell including an anode feed circuit and a cathode feed circuit for feeding of an anode side with a reactant gas and for feeding a cathode side with a cathode gas. A shut-down mode for shutting down an electricity generating operation of the fuel system includes decreasing the supply of reactant gas and cathode gas in response of a shut-down signal, monitoring an output voltage of at least one cell of a fuel cell stack, monitoring the reactant gas pressure and the cathode gas pressure, electrically shunting of the at least one fuel cell in response of the output voltage reaching a predefined voltage level, at least reducing the pressure of the anode side to a predefined pressure level by means of at least one pump, and filling and/or flushing of at least the anode side with an inert gas.

Abstract: The method of operating a passive hybrid power supply in, or near, zero connected load conditions comprises the steps of: supplying a stream of substantially pure hydrogen to the anode of the fuel cell; supplying an stream of substantially pure oxygen to the cathode of the fuel cell; monitoring an electric current supplied by the storage battery; monitoring an output voltage shared by the fuel cell and the battery; evaluating a state of charge (SOC) of the battery based on the electric current and the output voltage; monitoring a hydrogen pressure in the fuel cell; monitoring an oxygen pressure in the fuel cell; limiting the stream of hydrogen and the stream of oxygen and actuating the hydrogen and oxygen recirculating pumps in such a way as to bring and maintain the hydrogen and oxygen pressures below 0.7 barabsolute while maintaining the hydrogen pressure between 70 and 130% of the oxygen pressure, in such a way as to ensure that the output voltage is maintained at a level corresponding to less than 0.

Abstract: The method for limiting the output voltage of a PEM fuel cell system operating in, or near, zero load conditions, in such a way as to minimize degradation of performance over time, comprises: supplying a hydrogen stream to the anode of the fuel cell; supplying an oxygen stream to the cathode of the fuel cell; monitoring an output voltage of the fuel cell; monitoring a hydrogen pressure in the fuel cell; monitoring an oxygen pressure in the fuel cell; limiting the hydrogen stream and the oxygen stream while actuating controllable recirculating pumps for the hydrogen and the oxygen in such a way as to bring and maintain the hydrogen and oxygen pressures below 1 barabsolute while maintaining the hydrogen pressure between 70 and 130% of the oxygen pressure, so that the output voltage remains below 0.90 volts.

Abstract: A fuel cell stack is disclosed having a number of stacked fuel cells, each having in series an anode-facing end plate, an anode, an ion-exchanging layer, a cathode and a cathode-facing end plate. The stack includes at least one conductive and flexible intermediate layer between elements of the stack. The intermediate layer is deformable implemented in terms of its thickness. The intermediate layer abuts and interacts, in a fluid-tight manner, with the end plates. The intermediate layer is further disposed between at least one of the anode-facing end plate and the cathode-facing end plate of adjacent fuel cells, an end plate of a stack and a cooling plate attached to said end plate and an end plate of the stack and a cathode-facing end plate.

Abstract: The present invention concerns a separator plate for use in a fuel cell stack with a substantially circular or oval main surface wherein a fluid flow path is defined by a plurality of channels extending substantially in parallel to each other and leading a fluid from a fluid supply port to a fluid discharge port. Adjacent channels merge such as to decrease the number of parallel channels from the supply port to the discharge port, thereby decreasing a cross sectional area of the flow path.

Abstract: A fuel cell has an electrochemical process area having a cathode area, an anode area and an ion-exchanging membrane that separates these areas. The cathode area has a gas passage way having a gas inlet, a gas channel and a gas outlet, wherein the gas passage way is for an oxygen-containing gas to flow from the gas inlet through the gas channel to the gas outlet. The fuel cell includes further a humidity transfer area having a dehumidifying zone, a humidifying zone and a humidity transfer membrane that separates these zones. An exhaust channel connects the gas outlet to the dehumidifying zone, and an inlet channel connects the gas inlet to the humidifying zone. Humidity is extracted from the oxygen-containing gas in the dehumidifying zone, and added to the oxygen-containing gas in the humidifying zone via the humidity transfer membrane.

Abstract: A fuel cell has an electrochemical process area having a cathode area, an anode area and an ion-exchanging membrane that separates these areas. The cathode area has a gas passage way having a gas inlet, a gas channel and a gas outlet, wherein the gas passage way is for an oxygen-containing gas to flow from the gas inlet through the gas channel to the gas outlet. The fuel cell includes further a humidity transfer area having a dehumidifying zone, a humidifying zone and a humidity transfer membrane that separates these zones. An exhaust channel connects the gas outlet to the dehumidifying zone, and an inlet channel connects the gas inlet to the humidifying zone. Humidity is extracted from the oxygen-containing gas in the dehumidifying zone, and added to the oxygen-containing gas in the humidifying zone via the humidity transfer membrane.

Abstract: A device (10) for feeding bulk material items (12) from a mass multiply arranged one above the other in a store (14) into a randomly re-alignable, individually distributed and disentangled position within the reach of a robot (18) comprises a substantially horizontally arranged oscillating conveyor surface (16) with first apparatus (58, 60) for the forward feed or reverse transport of the bulk material items (12) in the x-direction or in the x- and y-direction of the space coordinates and a second apparatus (62) for exciting an oscillation of the oscillating conveyor surface (16) in the z-direction of the space coordinates.

Abstract: So that the electrolyte membrane of a fuel cell in the inlet area of the fuels does not dry out, a humidity circuit is provided on the cathode side and/or anode side, by means of which e.g. a fluid entering the cell on the cathode side is first humidified, so that the membrane itself no longer discharges any humidity to the fluid, but can absorb it if required and thus does not dry out.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to an intermediate layer between end plates of a fuel cell enables individual fuel cells to be removed form the stack in a simple manner, thus reducing production costs.