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JP-2026514491-A - Electrochemical stacks and mounting assemblies for such stacks

JP2026514491AJP 2026514491 AJP2026514491 AJP 2026514491AJP-2026514491-A

Abstract

【assignment】 To avoid damage to the supply line due to thermal expansion that occurs during the operation of the electrochemical stack. [Solution] An electrochemical stack (1) is provided, in which a plurality of electrochemical cells are arranged horizontally between an upper plate (4) and a lower plate (3) of the stack (1). The upper plate (4) and the lower plate (3) are fastened together by a fastening device (5), and the upper plate (4) has at least one connection for supplying or discharging a gaseous and/or liquid medium to or from the electrochemical cells (2). The upper plate (4) has a suspension portion (17) for attaching the electrochemical stack (1) to a support frame (15), and the lower plate (3) floats freely. A mounting assembly for attaching the electrochemical stack comprises a support frame (15), in which the electrochemical stack (1) abuts against the support frame by the suspension portion (17), thereby allowing the lower plate (3) to float freely and the electrochemical cells (2) to be oriented horizontally. [Selection Diagram] Figure 1

Inventors

  • ネーアー，ラーズ
  • ポーシュ，セバスティアン

Assignees

  • ロバート ボッシュ ゲーエムベーハー

Dates

Publication Date
20260511
Application Date
20240416
Priority Date
20230424

Claims (11)

  1. An electrochemical stack (1) comprising a plurality of electrochemical cells (2) arranged horizontally between an upper plate (4) and a lower plate (3) of the electrochemical stack (1), wherein the upper plate (4) and the lower plate (3) are fastened together by a fastening device (5) and are parallel to each other, and the electrochemical stack (1) comprises at least one connection portion for supplying or discharging a gaseous or liquid medium to or from the electrochemical cells (2), wherein the connection portion is formed on the upper plate (4), in the electrochemical stack (1), The electrochemical stack is characterized in that the upper plate (4) has a suspension portion (17) for attaching the electrochemical stack (1) to a support frame (15), and the lower plate (3) is able to float freely.
  2. The electrochemical stack according to claim 1, characterized in that the suspension portion (17) is formed on the outer edge portion (14) of the upper plate (4).
  3. The electrochemical stack according to claim 2, characterized in that, on the outer edge (14) of the upper plate (4), a plurality of suspension portions (17) are dispersed and arranged around the periphery of the upper plate (4).
  4. The electrochemical stack according to claim 3, characterized in that the multiple suspension sections (17) are located on the same plane.
  5. The electrochemical stack according to claim 4, characterized in that the plane is oriented parallel to the electrochemical cell (2).
  6. The electrochemical stack according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the suspension portion (17) is formed as a bolt (19) protruding laterally from the upper plate (4).
  7. The electrochemical stack according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the suspension portion (17) is formed as a metal rail (22).
  8. The electrochemical stack according to claim 7, characterized in that metal rails (22) are arranged on opposite sides of the upper plate (4).
  9. A mounting assembly for mounting an electrochemical stack according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising a support frame (15), wherein the electrochemical stack (1) abuts against the support frame by the suspension portion (17), thereby allowing the lower plate (3) to float freely, and the electrochemical cell (2) is oriented horizontally.
  10. The mounting assembly according to claim 9, characterized in that the suspension portion (17) is screw-fastened to the mounting frame (15).
  11. The mounting assembly according to claim 9, characterized in that the suspension portion (17) has the form of a bolt (19), and the mounting frame (15) has a housing portion (20) for the bolt (19).

Description

This invention relates to an electrochemical stack used, for example, to generate electric current from chemical energy, or to produce hydrogen and oxygen using electric current, as well as a mounting assembly for mounting such a stack. Electrochemical stacks have a variety of applications. For example, they can be used as fuel cells to generate electric current from chemical energy, or, in the reverse application, as electrolytic cells to produce hydrogen and oxygen through electrochemical decomposition using electric current. In this case, the hydrogen can be converted back into electric current at a later point or used as a starting material for other chemical processes. In this case, an electrochemical stack typically contains a relatively large number of electrochemical cells where the actual reaction takes place. A simple electrochemical cell consists of an anode chamber and a cathode chamber separated from each other by an electrode-coated, semipermeable membrane. The anode and cathode chambers are filled with or permeated by a liquid, particularly water, or a gas during operation. In an electrolytic cell, a DC voltage is applied between the electrodes, causing the water in the anode chamber to decompose and hydrogen to diffuse into the cathode chamber. The amount of hydrogen produced is determined by the membrane area. To obtain the largest possible yield, individual electrochemical cells are formed very flat, allowing many such cells to be stacked vertically, thereby increasing the total membrane area. Water is supplied to all cells through channels extending perpendicularly to the electrochemical cells, and the generated gases are discharged through further channels. To ensure the airtightness of the cells, the cell stack is positioned between a lower plate and an upper plate, and these are tightened with considerable force. The necessary tightening device consists of, for example, multiple tightening screws or tightening bands arranged around the cell stack. During operation, the electrochemical cell needs to be supplied with water and a gas, such as hydrogen or air, and the generated gas and unused water must be discharged. If necessary, additional cooling water is also supplied and discharged. For this purpose, the electrochemical stack must have corresponding connections, preferably located on an easily accessible upper plate. In this case, the lower plate of the stack is mounted on a holding device. During stack operation, heat is generated, leading to thermal expansion. This changes the distance between the lower and upper plates, and in relatively large stacks with hundreds of electrochemical cells, this distance can increase by several millimeters. Therefore, to prevent damage to the supply lines on the upper plate due to the upper plate's movement relative to the ground, the supply lines must have compensating elements. In contrast, the electrochemical stack according to the present invention has the advantage that the electrochemical stack can be operated using connections necessary for operation at the upper end, i.e., the upper plate, and that there is no need to provide a compensation element in the supply line to compensate for the thermal expansion of the stack, or only a very simple, and therefore cost-effective, compensation element is required. In this case, the electrochemical stack includes a plurality of electrochemical cells, which are oriented horizontally and positioned between the upper and lower plates of the stack. The upper and lower plates are fastened together by a clamping device. The upper plate has at least one connection formed therein for supplying or discharging gaseous and/or liquid media to or from the electrochemical cells. The upper plate has a suspension section (Aufhaengungen) formed to attach the electrochemical stack to a support frame (Gestellrahmen), and the lower plate floats freely. The electrochemical stack according to the present invention can be suspended from a corresponding support frame at the suspension section, thereby preventing the lower plate from contacting the ground. During operation, if the stack heats up and expands, the distance between the upper plate and the ground remains constant, but the lower plate moves somewhat toward the ground in proportion to the stack's expansion. Because the upper plate is always at the same height above the ground, the supply and discharge lines can be fixed there without compensating elements, which results in significant savings, especially in large, high-performance electrolytic cells or fuel cells where the line cross-section and wall thickness are large and therefore inflexible. In the first advantageous embodiment, the suspension sections are formed on the outer edge of the upper plate. In this case, to evenly distribute the stack weight on each individual suspension section and the support frame, the suspension sections are preferably distributed across the width of the upper plate. Electrochemi