METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR USE WITH POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM

摘要

A power supply system comprises an internal combustion engine (1) and a fuel cell (2) arranged in series with each other, together with an appropriate fuel supply (6) and an air supply (3) for the fuel cell (2) and internal combustion engine (1). The stream of fuel gas (7) which is exhausted from the anode of the fuel cell (2) is provided as a fuel supply input to the fuel supply system of the internal combustion engine (1). The voltage and current profile along the fuel cell (2) is determined in use so as to determine the composition of the fuel supply stream (6) that is input to the fuel cell (2). This allows the nature, e.g., quality, of the supplied fuel to be determined.