Solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell based on the reaction gases flowing in opposite directions

摘要

The present invention provides a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell comprising a fuel cell stack (21) formed by laminating a plurality of fuel cell units each of which includes a fuel electrode (23), an oxidant electrode (24), and a solid polymer electrolyte membrane (22) interposed between the fuel and oxidant electrodes. The fuel cell unit is operable to generate an electric power through an electrochemical reaction between a first gas supplied to the side of the fuel electrode (23) and a second gas supplied to the side of the oxidant electrode (24). In this fuel cell, the first gas supplied to the side of the fuel electrode (23) and the second gas supplied to the side of the oxidant electrode (24) are adapted to flow generally in opposite directions in the fuel cell stack (21), so that water created on the side of oxidant electrode (24) is reciprocally moved between the fuel electrode (23) and the oxidant electrode (24) to increase a water holding region in the solid polymer electrolyte membrane (22). The fuel cell of the present invention can improve fuel cell characteristics without providing any humidifier.