METHOD AND DEVICE FOR ENHANCING FUEL CELL LIFETIME

摘要

A method for enhance lifetime of fuel cells via a device includes a step of creating a H2 environment for a stack, wherein the H2 environment is composed of H2 confined within a gas-tight enclosure of the device. The device includes an enclosure-H2-inlet port, an enclosure-H2-outlet port, a stack-H2-inlet, a stack-H2-outlet, a stack-air-inlet, a stack-air-outlet, a stack-coolant-inlet, and a stack-coolant-outlet. The device prevents air from getting into the stack when the fuel cell system is in the idling or shutdown state. It solves the problems associated with the electrode damage caused by the open circuit voltage in the entire fuel cell non-operational time period and the electrode damage caused by the formation of an air/hydrogen boundary during either the startup or shutdown process. The device eliminates the damages of the open circuit voltage to either MEAs or stacks during their storage time period.