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CN-121992418-A - Polar plate assembly for electrolysis unit, electrolysis unit and electrolysis stack

CN121992418ACN 121992418 ACN121992418 ACN 121992418ACN-121992418-A

Abstract

The application provides a plate assembly for an electrolysis unit, comprising a plate having a first side and a second side opposite to each other, the first side of the plate being provided with a first recess for receiving a fluid, a cover plate having a first side and a second side opposite to each other, the first side of the cover plate and the first side of the plate facing each other, the second side of the cover plate being configured for supporting an exchange membrane of the electrolysis unit, and an electrode layer arranged between the plate and the cover plate such that the electrode layer is kept at a predetermined distance from the exchange membrane, wherein the plate is further provided with an input channel for inputting the fluid to the first recess, the cover plate covering the input channel and the electrode layer. The application also provides an electrolysis unit and an electrolysis stack comprising the polar plate assembly.

Inventors

  • XIE XU
  • HAO XIAOGANG
  • NI YANG
  • ZHANG JINGJUN

Assignees

  • 罗伯特·博世有限公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20241101

Claims (14)

  1. 1. A plate assembly (100) for an electrolysis cell (200), comprising: -a plate (10) having a first side and a second side opposite to each other, the first side of the plate (10) being provided with a first recess (11) for receiving a fluid; a cover plate (20) having a first side and a second side opposite to each other, the first side of the cover plate (20) and the first side of the plate (10) facing each other, the second side of the cover plate (20) being configured as an exchange membrane (130) for supporting the electrolysis cell (200), and An electrode layer (30) disposed between the electrode plate (10) and the cap plate (20) such that the electrode layer (30) maintains a predetermined distance from the exchange membrane (130), Wherein the pole plate (10) is further provided with an input channel (12) for inputting the fluid into the first recess (11), and the cover plate (20) covers the input channel (12) and the electrode layer (30).
  2. 2. The plate assembly (100) of claim 1, wherein the input channel (12) is located below the electrode layer (30) when the first side of the plate (10) faces upward.
  3. 3. The plate assembly (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the plate assembly (100) further comprises a porous transport layer (40), the first recess (11) is configured for receiving the porous transport layer (40), and the electrode layer (30) is supported on the porous transport layer (40).
  4. 4. The plate assembly (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first recess (11) is provided with a groove, the fluid flowing within the groove, and the electrode layer (30) is supported on the groove.
  5. 5. The plate assembly (100) according to claim 1, wherein a first side of the cover plate (20) is provided with a cover plate recess (21) for receiving the electrode layer (30), and a second side of the cover plate (20) is provided with an opening (22) communicating with the cover plate recess (21).
  6. 6. The plate assembly (100) of claim 5, wherein the cover plate (20) includes an outer rim portion (23) surrounding a periphery of the cover plate (20), an inner rim portion (24) located inside the outer rim portion (23), and a sidewall portion (25) connecting the outer rim portion (23) and the inner rim portion (24), the inner rim portion (24) and the sidewall portion (25) defining the cover plate recess (21).
  7. 7. The plate assembly (100) according to claim 6, wherein the first side of the plate (10) is further provided with a second recess (13) located outside the first recess (11), the second recess (13) being configured for receiving an outer edge portion (23) of the cover plate (20).
  8. 8. The plate assembly (100) of claim 7, wherein the outer rim portion (23) is aligned with the first side of the plate (10) when the outer rim portion (23) is received within the second recess (13).
  9. 9. The plate assembly (100) of claim 6, wherein, The outer edge (23) has the same external dimensions as the plate (10), and/or The outer edge (23) is welded to the first side of the plate (10).
  10. 10. The plate assembly (100) of claim 1, wherein the plate assembly (100) further comprises a sealing member (50), the sealing member (50) being disposed on the second side of the cover plate (20).
  11. 11. A plate assembly (100) according to claim 3, wherein the electrode layer (30) and the porous transport layer (40) are welded to the plate (10) at a position overlapping the first recess (11).
  12. 12. The plate assembly (100) of claim 1, wherein the electrode layer (30) is a porous material and comprises a catalyst.
  13. 13. An electrolysis cell (200), comprising: Exchange membrane (130); and Anode plate assembly (110) and cathode plate assembly (120) disposed on both sides of the exchange membrane (130), respectively, wherein the anode plate assembly (110) and the cathode plate assembly (120) are configured as a plate assembly (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 12.
  14. 14. An electrolytic stack (300), comprising: A plurality of electrolysis cells (200) according to claim 13, arranged adjacently, and A first end plate (310) and a second end plate (320) configured to clamp and secure together a plurality of said electrolysis cells (200).

Description

Polar plate assembly for electrolysis unit, electrolysis unit and electrolysis stack Technical Field The present application relates to the field of electrochemical cells, and more particularly to a plate assembly for an electrolysis cell, an electrolysis cell comprising the plate assembly, and an electrolysis stack comprising the electrolysis cell. Background With the development of new energy technology, hydrogen energy is becoming more and more interesting as a centralized renewable energy carrier due to the characteristics of zero pollution, high energy, wide sources and the like. There are many hydrogen production modes at present, wherein hydrogen production by using an electrolytic stack is a research hot spot in the current hydrogen production field, and the electrolytic stack is also a key device for producing hydrogen. The electrolytic stack generally includes a plurality of electrolytic cells stacked together, an end plate for fixing the plurality of electrolytic cells together, and piping and lines for supplying water (or alkaline solution), power, coolant, and the like to the plurality of electrolytic cells. Each electrolysis cell typically comprises an anode plate, an anode porous transport layer, an anode electrode layer (comprising an anode catalyst), an exchange membrane (e.g., a proton exchange membrane PEM, an anion exchange membrane AEM, or a separator), a cathode electrode layer (comprising a cathode catalyst), a cathode porous transport layer, and a cathode plate, which are stacked in that order. The anode plate and the cathode plate may be formed as bipolar plates or monopolar plates, and may be simply referred to as plates. In existing electrolysis cells, porous materials (such as foam, mesh or felt) are typically used as electrodes and porous transport layers. However, such porous materials may exhibit incomplete contact at the electrode layer-plate interface resulting in high ohmic losses, and sharp surface portions of the porous materials may contact the exchange membrane to pierce the exchange membrane. Perforation of the exchange membrane may lead to hydrogen permeation or leakage, thereby reducing hydrogen production efficiency and increasing explosion risk. In addition, in the existing electrolysis unit, water or alkaline solution directly enters the electrode layer from the channels of the electrode plate, and the catalyst in the electrode layer is washed, so that the catalyst can fall off to reduce the stability and durability of the catalyst. In addition, during the manufacturing process, the assembly of the individual components of the electrolysis unit is very time-consuming and subject to assembly errors, such as misalignments, deformations, excessive stresses, etc., thus resulting in low production efficiency and in a tendency to quality problems. Therefore, improvements to existing stacks and their electrolysis units are needed to increase their safety, stability, and ease of assembly and maintenance. Disclosure of Invention It is an object of the present application to provide an improved plate assembly for an electrolysis cell, an electrolysis cell comprising the plate assembly and an electrolysis stack comprising the electrolysis cell, overcoming at least one of the technical problems as described above. To this end, according to an aspect of the present application, there is provided a plate assembly for an electrolytic unit, comprising a plate having a first side and a second side opposite to each other, the first side of the plate being provided with a first recess for receiving a fluid, a cover plate having a first side and a second side opposite to each other, the first side of the cover plate and the first side of the plate facing each other, the second side of the cover plate being configured to support an exchange membrane of the electrolytic unit, and an electrode layer disposed between the plate and the cover plate such that the electrode layer is maintained at a predetermined distance from the exchange membrane, wherein the plate is further provided with an input channel for inputting the fluid to the first recess, the cover plate covering the input channel and the electrode layer. According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided an electrolysis cell comprising an exchange membrane, and an anode plate assembly and a cathode plate assembly disposed on either side of the exchange membrane, respectively, wherein the anode plate assembly and the cathode plate assembly are configured as the plate assemblies described above. According to a further aspect of the present application there is provided an electrolysis stack comprising a plurality of electrolysis cells as described above arranged adjacently, and a first end plate and a second end plate configured to clamp and secure together a plurality of said electrolysis cells. The plates and cover plates of the plate assembly of the present application define a space for accommodating th