Miniature Fuel Cells for Portable Applications

A fuel cell power pack for drones that provides long flight times without increasing weight or size. The pack integrates the fuel cell stack and hydrogen tank inside the drone in a weight-balanced configuration. This reduces overall weight compared to external batteries. The pack also improves airflow and lift generation by optimizing exhaust ducts and blinds. The internal fuel cell stack is surrounded by heated elements to maintain optimal operating temperature. This allows stable stack performance in cold or hot environments. The pack also has a removable hydrogen tank for easy refueling.

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A compact, lightweight hydrogen fuel cell system for unmanned aircraft that enables long endurance flights with high power-to-weight ratio. The system uses a small hydrogen fuel cell, carbon fiber reinforced tank, single stage regulator, and control electronics optimized for unmanned aerial vehicle applications. The fuel cell has minimum continuous power output of 25 W, maximum of 5000 W, specific power of 200 W/kg, operates up to 90°C, and can handle 2 psig hydrogen inlet. The carbon fiber tank holds compressed or cryogenic hydrogen. The system enables unmanned aircraft propulsion with hydrogen fuel cells while meeting weight, power, and temperature requirements.

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A flat fuel cell device designed for low height applications like drones and aircraft. The fuel cell stack, fuel inlet/outlet, air inlet/outlet, and electrical connections are all arranged horizontally around the cell stack. This allows the fuel cell to have a low profile, unlike conventional vertical fuel cell layouts.

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Portable fuel cell systems for powering devices in remote locations that are lightweight, compact, and comfortable to wear. The fuel cell systems have unique thermal management designs to dissipate waste heat and maintain operation at extreme temperatures. The fuel cell stack is enclosed in a chassis with an air gap between it and the engine block. A heatsink is attached to the stack and a blower draws cooling air. A boiler mounted on the stack side vaporizes fuel using waste heat. A burner away from the stack provides heat via a heat pipe. This allows compactness, comfort, and reliable operation in extreme conditions.

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Fuel cell design with improved size and output by reducing cracking and delamination of the electrolyte layers during reduction. The design uses a composite fuel electrode with a porous outer layer and an inner layer containing nickel oxide and a composite oxide. This is followed by a regular solid electrolyte layer without nickel. During reduction, the outer porous layer expands less than the inner layer, preventing cracking and delamination of the electrolyte layers. This allows larger fuel cells with better performance compared to conventional designs.

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Hybrid fuel cell system that can use a wide range of fuels with minimum weight. The system includes a fuel source, a reformer, a depressurization system and a fuel cell stack. The depressurization system reduces the pressure of the hydrogen gas produced by the reformer. The fuel cell stack then uses this reduced-pressure hydrogen gas. This allows the stack to be lighter and eliminates the need for reinforced stack components.

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A solid oxide fuel cell design with a thin solid electrolyte layer and porous lower electrode to increase output power. The fuel cell has a thin (1 μm or less) solid electrolyte layer sandwiched between a porous lower electrode and a regular upper electrode. The porous lower electrode allows formation of a three-phase interface for better electrochemical reactions. The thin electrolyte reduces resistance and short-circuiting risks compared to thicker electrolytes. The porous lower electrode is achieved by forming an opening in the substrate covered by a porous lower electrode layer. This allows thinning the electrolyte while maintaining a porous lower electrode for optimal performance.

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Lithium oxide electrode micro-molten salt ceramic fuel cell with high electrolyte conductivity and electrode catalytic activity at low temperatures. The fuel cell uses a ceramic electrolyte made from nanopowders with micropores, like GDC or LiAlO2, that contains LiOH and Li2CO3. At low temperatures, these lithium compounds partially melt and coat the ceramic particles, forming a core-shell structure. This in-situ generated micro-molten salt-ceramic core-shell structure has high ionic conductivity. The melten lithium compounds also adhere to the electrolyte surface to improve catalytic activity.

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Fuel cell design with improved gas flow and diffusion for higher performance. The fuel cell has a unique configuration of porous metal bodies in the anode and cathode, along with a gas supply/discharge interconnector. The porous metal bodies have different porosities, with a lower porosity body facing the gas ports. This allows better gas flow and diffusion compared to solid components. The higher porosity body provides a larger surface area for gas contact. The lower porosity body restricts gas flow to prevent linear flow paths. The interconnector connects the gas ports to the metal bodies. This configuration improves gas mixing, distribution, and utilization in the fuel cell for higher efficiency.

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Microscale fuel cell that is flexible, air breathing, planar, and double sided, which are suitable for use as miniaturized energy sources in portable electronics. The fuel cell is made without silicon wafers and instead uses polymer membranes. It uses hot embossing to pattern channels into the polymer membrane to create the fuel cell structure. By using flexible polymer materials and patterning directly into the membrane, the fuel cell can be made highly miniaturized and flexible.

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Flexible fuel cell power systems that can be configured for various uses and are compact, lightweight, and safe for applications like portable electronics, military equipment, and first responders. The systems have a flexible platform with bendable joints that allows the components to bend and flex. This enables compact packaging of the fuel cell cartridge and system. The cartridge contains multiple fuel cell modules that share fluid lines for hydrogen and water. The modules are hot swappable for maintenance or replacement. The system has a flexible platform that allows bending and twisting to accommodate the cartridge and components. This provides a compact and flexible power source for applications with space constraints or where portability is important.

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Low-temperature solid oxide fuel cell using composite electrolyte material made by doping oxygen ion conductor oxide with semiconductor material. The fuel cell has nickel-acetate-treated foam as the anode and cathode, and a composite electrolyte layer of nickel-doped oxide (SN0) and oxidized nickel oxide (NSDC). The composite electrolyte has high oxygen ion conductivity at low temperatures due to the interface between the nano-ionic and nano-semiconductor phases. This enables efficient operation of the fuel cell in the 300-600°C temperature range where traditional solid oxide fuel cells struggle.

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Low-temperature solid oxide fuel cell using a composite electrolyte material of oxidized ceria (CeO2) and nickel oxide (NiO) to enable efficient operation of the fuel cell at temperatures as low as 300-600 degrees Celsius. The composite electrolyte has a semiconductor-ion heterostructure that enhances oxygen ion conductivity compared to CeO2 alone. The composite electrolyte is sandwiched between cathode and anode made of nickel-doped carbon aerogel (NCAL) foam to form the fuel cell. This enables low-temperature fuel cell operation without the need for precious metal catalysts or high-temperature YSZ electrolytes.

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Cylindrical proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack architecture with improved fluid routing and sealing for uniform cell performance. The stack has a cylindrical housing with the fuel cell modules arranged radially. The cathode air supply is axially directed into an annular plenum surrounding the stack. This provides uniform air flow distribution to each cell. The stack compression mechanism is integrated into the housing. The modules have aligned fuel and oxidant manifolds. This enables compact integration of balance-of-plant components like humidifiers and coolant channels into the housing. The stack architecture enables modular fuel cell systems with integrated components for efficient, compact fuel cell power generation.

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Fuel cell design with improved gas diffusion and current collection compared to conventional fuel cells. The fuel cell uses two porous metal bodies with different pore sizes adjacent to the electrodes and an interconnector. The first porous metal body with smaller pores is closer to the electrode. This allows better gas diffusion through the smaller pores to the electrode. The larger pore second porous metal body provides better current collection due to its higher conductivity. The interconnector between the larger porous metal body and the cell stack has the same pore size as the larger porous metal body. This provides optimal balance of gas diffusion and current collection.

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Planar solid oxide fuel cell design with improved sealing and contact area between the electrolyte and cathode to increase cell efficiency and durability. The cell has an anode, cathode, and electrolyte sandwiched between them. The electrolyte is a ceria-based oxide. The key innovation is ensuring that at least 90% of the total cell area is contact between the electrolyte and cathode. This prevents sealing material from diffusing into the cathode during operation. It involves optimizing electrolyte and cathode composition, thickness, and formation to achieve this high contact area.

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Wearable power generator that can provide electricity for extended periods without requiring charging or replacing batteries. The generator is worn like a vest or backpack and uses a fuel cell to convert oxygen from the air and hydrogen from a cartridge into electricity. The fuel cell is enclosed in an insulated container with features like oxygen-selective membranes, vaporizing insulation, and adaptive thermal resistance to optimize performance. The generator can be worn for multiple days without resupply, eliminating the need for bulky batteries and facilitating extended missions for soldiers and first responders.

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Compact fuel cell system with integrated components like heat exchangers and reformers that have optimized flow paths for improved performance. The components are stacked next to the fuel cell stack and arranged with matching dimensions to enable parallel fluid flow. The components have channels that enter and exit the stack at the sides, adjacent to the fuel cell stack. This allows fluid flow into and out of the system from the same side. The components also have obstructions in the channels to vary flow velocity and distribute/collect fluid. The stack components have wedge-shaped inlet/outlet sections for full height coverage.

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Fuel cell assembly with configurable interconnections between individual fuel cells to optimize current and voltage output. The fuel cell stack allows reconfiguring the electrical connections between cells without changing their spatial arrangement. This enables connecting cells in series, parallel, or both to match the required current and voltage. The configurable interconnections replace the need for external converters and allows customizing the stack for specific applications.

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Operating a portable electronic device, like a hearing aid, with a fuel cell as a power source while mitigating issues like low voltage output, high power consumption, and noise. The device uses a boost converter to step up the fuel cell voltage to the required level. It also has a current limiting feature to prevent excessive power drain that could drop the boost converter output below normal. If the output voltage drops, power is temporarily cut to the rest of the device to let the boost converter recover.

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