US 12,438,170 B2
Electrode pressure balance for a nitrogen blanketing process
Salvatore Ranieri, Etobicoke (CA); Eero Teene, Hamilton (CA); Paolo Forte, Maple (CA); Justin Rizzi, Oshawa (CA); Prabhsimran Malhi, Brampton (CA); Richard Ancimer, Toronto (CA); Sumit Tripathi, Columbus, IN (US); and Sonia Sorbera, Woodbridge (CA)
Assigned to CUMMINS INC., Columbus, IN (US); and HYDROGENICS CORPORATION, Mississauga (CA)
Filed by CUMMINS INC., Columbus, IN (US); and HYDROGENICS CORPORATION, Mississauga (CA)
Filed on Sep. 30, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/957,368.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/317,772, filed on Mar. 8, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2023/0290979 A1, Sep. 14, 2023
Int. Cl. H01M 8/04 (2016.01); H01M 8/04089 (2016.01); H01M 8/04111 (2016.01); H01M 8/04228 (2016.01); H01M 8/0438 (2016.01); H01M 8/04746 (2016.01); H01M 8/04955 (2016.01)
CPC H01M 8/04955 (2013.01) [H01M 8/04097 (2013.01); H01M 8/04111 (2013.01); H01M 8/04228 (2016.02); H01M 8/04388 (2013.01); H01M 8/04395 (2013.01); H01M 8/04753 (2013.01); H01M 8/04761 (2013.01); H01M 2250/10 (2013.01); H01M 2250/20 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of operating a fuel cell system comprising:
connecting a passive electrical load to a fuel cell stack comprising a membrane, an anode and a cathode,
disconnecting a DC-DC converter by a system controller,
initiating nitrogen blanketing after a current through the DC-DC converter is reduced to about zero,
ensuring water content in the fuel cell stack is about zero,
sending a signal to the system controller to initiate a shutdown process, and
initiating the shutdown process in the fuel cell system,
wherein the passive electrical load is configured to be connected during fuel cell system shutdown and disconnected during normal operation of the fuel cell system and the passive load is not a parasitic load when the fuel cell system is operating normally.