Methods of using fuel cell system configured to provide power to one or more loads

• US 20030077493A1
• Filed: 10/19/2001
• Published: 04/24/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zinc8 Energy Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Cinergy Ventures II, LLC (Duke Energy Corporation), Josh Lampl, Micro-Generation Technology Fund, LLC, New Juno LP, Nth Power Technologies Fund II, L.P., Perseus 2000, LLC, Teck Cominco Metals Ltd., Thomas Page, Utech Climate Challenge Fund, L.P.
• Inventors: Smedley, Stuart I., Colborn, Jeffrey A.
• Granted Patent: US 6,764,785 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 429/23
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 12/06 with one metallic and one gaseous electrode
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2250/10 Fuel cells in stationary systems, e.g. emergency power source in plant
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04007 related to heat exchange
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04097 with recycling of the reactants H01M8/04119, H01M8/04104 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04186 of liquid-charged or electrolyte-charged reactants
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04955 Shut-off or shut-down of fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/06 Combination of fuel cells with means for production of reactants or for treatment of residues regenerative fuel cells H01M8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/14 Fuel cells with fused electrolytes
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/184 Regeneration by electrochemical means
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/225 Fuel cells in which the fuel is based on materials comprising particulate active material in the form of a suspension, a dispersion, a fluidised bed or a paste
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/10 Applications of fuel cells in buildings
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/50 Fuel cells

Abstract

A fuel cell system is described for providing primary and/or auxiliary/backup power to one or more loads selected from the group comprising: lawn & garden equipment; radios; telephone; targeting equipment; battery rechargers; laptops; communications devices; sensors; night vision equipment; camping equipment; stoves; lanterns; lights; vehicles; cars; recreational vehicles; trucks; boats; ferries; motorcycles; motorized scooters; forklifts; golf carts; lawnmowers; industrial carts; passenger carts (airport); luggage handling equipment (airports); airplanes; lighter than air crafts; blimps; dirigibles; hovercrafts; trains; locomotives; submarines (manned and unmanned); torpedoes; security systems; electrical energy storage devices for solar-based, tidal-based, hydro-based, wind-based, and other renewable energy source; equipment for which a primary and/or backup power source is necessary or desirable to enable the equipment to function for its intended purpose, military-usable variants of above, and suitable combinations of any two or more thereof.

The system provides power to the one or more loads upon the occurrence of a power outage condition, which includes a disruption or discontinuation in the delivery of primary power (i.e., power from a system-external primary source, namely, a source other than the fuel cell system) to, or power demand condition by, the one or more loads. A controller senses outage of primary power to, or demand for primary power by, the one or more loads, and, responsive thereto, operatively engages one or more fuel cells to provide power to the one or more loads.

Claims

1. A fuel cell system for providing primary and/or auxiliary/backup power to one or more loads selected from the group comprising:

lawn &

garden equipment;

radios;

telephone;

targeting equipment;

battery rechargers;

laptops;

communications devices;

sensors;

night vision equipment;

camping equipment;

stoves;

lanterns;

lights;

vehicles;

cars;

recreational vehicles;

trucks;

boats;

ferries;

motorcycles;

motorized scooters;

forklifts;

golf carts;

lawnmowers;

industrial carts;

passenger carts (airport);

luggage handling equipment (airports);

airplanes;

lighter than air crafts;

blimps;

dirigibles;

hovercrafts;

trains;

locomotives;

submarines (manned and unmanned);

torpedoes;

security systems;

electrical energy storage devices for solar-based, tidal-based, hydro-based, wind-based, and other renewable energy source;

equipment for which a primary and/or backup power source is necessary or desirable to enable the equipment to function for its intended purpose, military-usable variants of above, and suitable combinations of any two or more thereof;

the system comprising one or more fuel cells, each comprising a power source and a fuel storage unit; and

a controller for sensing demand for primary power by, or outage of primary power to, the one or more loads, and, responsive thereto, operatively engaging the one or more fuel cells to provide power to the one or more loads.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein one or more of the fuel cells further comprises a regeneration unit.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the power sources is configured to function as a regeneration unit.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein one or more of the fuel cells further comprises a reaction product storage unit.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein one or more of the fuel cells further comprises a second reactant storage unit.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising a power conversion unit for converting the power output from the one or more fuel cells into another form.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the power conversion unit is configured to convert DC power from the one or more fuel cells into AC power.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein the power conversion unit is configured to convert DC power from the one or more fuel cells into another form of DC power.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to sense cessation of power demand from the one or more loads or resumption of system-external primary power to the one or more loads, and, responsive thereto, disengage the one or more fuel cells from providing power to the one or more loads.

10. The system of claim 2 or 3 wherein the controller is configured to sense cessation of power demand from the one or more loads or resumption of delivery of system-external primary power to the one or more loads, and, responsive thereto, engage a system-external primary power source to provide power to one or more of the regeneration units in the one or more fuel cells.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the one or more fuel cells is a zinc fuel cell.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein all of the one or more fuel cells are zinc fuel cells.

13. The system of claim 1 further comprising means for physically supporting the one or more fuel cells, and at least one of the one or more loads.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the system further comprises a power conversion unit for converting the power output from the one or more fuel cells into another form, and the means for physically supporting the one or more fuel cells and at least one of the one or more loads further comprises means for physically supporting the controller, the power conversion unit, and the remainder of the one or more loads, and wherein the means integrally supports the system.

15. The system of any of claims 13 or 14 wherein the means is a rack.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is configured to not utilize or produce significant quantities of flammable fuel or reactant product.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is configured to provide power to the one or more loads for a time period in the range from about 0.01 hours to about 10,000 hours.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the system is configured to provide power to the one or more loads for a time period in the range from about 0.5 hours to about 650 hours.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is configured to have an energy density in the range from about 35 Watt-hours per kilogram of combined fuel and electrolyte added to the system to about 400 Watt-hours per kilogram of combined fuel and electrolyte added to the system.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises an energy requirement, and wherein the system is configured such that the combined volume of fuel and electrolyte added to the system is in the range from about 0.0028 L per Watt-hour of the system'"'"'s energy requirement to about 0.025 L per Watt-hour of the system'"'"'s energy requirement.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the energy requirement is in the range from about 50 Watt-hours to about 500,000 Watt-hours.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the energy requirement is in the range from about 5 Watt-hours to about 5,000,000 Watt-hours.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein the fuel storage unit is configured to store fuel at a pressure in the range from about −

5 psi to about 200 psi.

24. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the power sources comprises fuel that is present in cell cavities of the power source prior to operative engagement of the one or more fuel cells by the controller to provide power to the one or more loads.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the amount of fuel present in the cell cavities of the power source prior to the controller sensing the demand from the one or more loads for primary power or the outage of system-external primary power to the one or more loads is sufficient to permit operative engagement of the one or more fuel cells by the controller to provide power to the one or more loads at a rate at least ten percent faster than when there is substantially no fuel present in the cell cavities of the power source prior to the controller sensing the outage.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein the amount of fuel present in the cell cavities of the at least one of the power sources prior to the controller sensing the demand from the one or more loads for primary power or the outage of system-external primary power to the one or more loads is sufficient to permit operative engagement of the one or more fuel cells by the controller for a time in the range of about 0.001 minutes to about 100 minutes without additional fuel being added.

27. The system of claim 24, wherein the at least one of the power sources further comprises one or more second reactants that are present in the power source at a pressure in the range from about 0.01 psi gauge pressure to about 200 psi gauge pressure prior to operative engagement of the one or more fuel cells by the controller to provide power to the one or more loads.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the one or more second reactants are present in the power source at the pressure at a time prior to an outage sense time, which outage sense time is in the range from about 10 microseconds to about 10 seconds after the controller has sensed outage of primary power to the one or more loads.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the time is also after the controller has sensed demand from the one or more loads for primary power or outage of system-external primary power to the one or more loads.

30. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to engage a flow of the one or more second reactants into the power source responsive to sensing the outage of primary power to the one or more loads.

31. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is configured to expel substantially no reaction products outside of the system.

32. The system of claim 5, wherein each of the fuel storage unit and the second reactant storage unit have an independently selected volume in the range from about 0.001 liters to about 1,000,000 liters.

35. The method of claim 32 or 33 further comprising converting the power output from the one or more fuel cells to another form.

37. The method of claim 32 or 33 further comprising sensing cessation of demand for power by, or resumption of system-external primary power to, the one or more loads, and, responsive thereto, disengaging the one or more fuel cells from providing power to the one or more loads.

38. The method of claim 32 or 33 further comprising sensing cessation of demand for power by, or resumption of system-external primary power to the one or more loads, and, responsive thereto, engaging the system-external primary power to provide power to one or more regeneration unit(s) of the fuel cells.

39. The method of claim 32 or 33 wherein the one or more fuel cells are zinc fuel cells.

41. The method of claim 39, wherein the amount of fuel is sufficient to operatively engage the fuel cell system for a time in the range from about 0.001 minutes to about 100 minutes without additional fuel being added thereto.

42. The method of claim 39, wherein the fuel is kept in the cell cavities for a time prior to operative engagement of the fuel cell system in the range from about 0.001 minutes to about 10 years.

33. A method of providing primary and/or auxiliary/backup power to one or more loads selected from the group comprising lawn &

garden equipment;

radios;

telephone;

targeting equipment;

battery rechargers;

laptops;

communications devices;

sensors;

night vision equipment;

camping equipment;

stoves;

lanterns;

lights;

vehicles;

cars;

recreational vehicles;

trucks;

boats;

ferries;

motorcycles;

motorized scooters;

forklifts;

golf carts;

lawnmowers;

industrial carts;

passenger carts (airport);

luggage handling equipment (airports);

airplanes;

lighter than air crafts;

blimps;

dirigibles;

hovercrafts;

trains;

locomotives;

submarines (manned and unmanned);

torpedoes;

security systems;

electrical energy storage devices for solar-based, tidal-based, hydro-based, wind-based, and other renewable energy source;

equipment for which a primary and/or backup power source is necessary or desirable to enable the equipment to function for its intended purpose, military-usable variants of above, and suitable combinations of any two or more thereof;

the method comprising the steps of;

sensing a demand for primary power by, or an outage of system-external primary power to, the one or more loads; and

upon sensing the demand condition or the outage condition, operatively engaging one or more fuel cells to provide power to the one or more loads.

34. A method of providing primary and/or auxiliary/backup power to one or more loads selected from the group comprising lawn &

garden equipment;

radios;

telephone;

targeting equipment;

battery rechargers;

laptops;

communications devices;

sensors;

night vision equipment;

camping equipment;

stoves;

lanterns;

lights;

vehicles;

cars;

recreational vehicles;

trucks;

boats;

ferries;

motorcycles;

motorized scooters;

forklifts;

golf carts;

lawnmowers;

industrial carts;

passenger carts (airport);

luggage handling equipment (airports);

airplanes;

lighter than air crafts;

blimps;

dirigibles;

hovercrafts;

trains;

locomotives;

submarines (manned and unmanned);

torpedoes;

security systems;

electrical energy storage devices for solar-based, tidal-based, hydro-based, wind-based, and other renewable energy source;

equipment for which a primary and/or backup power source is necessary or desirable to enable the equipment to function for its intended purpose, military-usable variants of above, and suitable combinations of any two or more thereof;

the method comprising;

upon sensing a demand for primary power by, or an outage of system-external primary power to the one or more loads, operatively engaging one or more fuel cells to provide power to the one or more loads.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein the power output from the one or more fuel cells is DC power, and the other form is AC power.

40. A method of pre-charging a fuel cell system for providing primary and/or auxiliary/backup power to one or more loads selected from the group comprising lawn &

garden equipment;

radios;

telephone;

targeting equipment;

battery rechargers;

laptops;

communications devices;

sensors;

night vision equipment;

camping equipment;

stoves;

lanterns;

lights;

vehicles;

cars;

recreational vehicles;

trucks;

boats;

ferries;

motorcycles;

motorized scooters;

forklifts;

golf carts;

lawnmowers;

industrial carts;

passenger carts (airport);

luggage handling equipment (airports);

airplanes;

lighter than air crafts;

blimps;

dirigibles;

hovercrafts;

trains;

locomotives;

submarines (manned and unmanned);

torpedoes;

security systems;

electrical energy storage devices for solar-based, tidal-based, hydro-based, wind-based, and other renewable energy source;

equipment for which a primary and/or backup power source is necessary or desirable to enable the equipment to function for its intended purpose, military-usable variants of above, and suitable combinations of any two or more thereof;

the method comprising placing an amount of fuel in cell cavities of a power source of a fuel cell system prior to operative engagement of the fuel cell system.

43. A method of utilizing a pre-charged fuel cell system for providing primary and/or auxiliary/backup power to one or more loads selected from the group comprising lawn &

garden equipment;

radios;

telephone;

targeting equipment;

battery rechargers;

laptops;

communications devices;

sensors;

night vision equipment;

camping equipment;

stoves;

lanterns;

lights;

vehicles;

cars;

recreational vehicles;

trucks;

boats;

ferries;

motorcycles;

motorized scooters;

forklifts;

golf carts;

lawnmowers;

industrial carts;

passenger carts (airport);

luggage handling equipment (airports);

airplanes;

lighter than air crafts;

blimps;

dirigibles;

hovercrafts;

trains;

locomotives;

submarines (manned and unmanned);

torpedoes;

security systems;

electrical energy storage devices for solar-based, tidal-based, hydro-based, wind-based, and other renewable energy source;

equipment for which a primary and/or backup power source is necessary or desirable to enable the equipment to function for its intended purpose, military-usable variants of above, and suitable combinations of any two or more thereof;

the method comprising operatively engaging a fuel cell system, containing fuel in cell cavities of a power source of the fuel cell system prior to its operative engagement, for a time in the range from about 0.001 minutes to about 100 minutes without adding additional fuel thereto.