FUEL CELL COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF BASIC CELLS CONNECTED IN SERIES, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SAME

摘要

Adjacent elementary cells are connected in series by connecting elements, each of which is arranged in an interconnection area. The connecting elements are separated from the respective electrolytic membranes of the two adjacent cells to be connected thereby. In this way, they are never in contact with these electrolytic membranes. For one of the two cells, the connecting element is separated from the electrolytic membrane by an empty space, whereas for the other cell, it is separated from the electrolytic membrane by a thin barrier layer designed to act as buffer area for variations in volume of said membrane when the cell is in operation. The thin barrier layer is formed by a polymer material having a lower water absorption capacity than that of the polymer material constituting the electrolytic membrane of the cell.