JP2005327558A - Solid polymer fuel cell - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce heat loss generated at current collector terminal through wires. <P>SOLUTION: The solid polymer fuel cell comprises a cell part formed by laminating a plurality of unit cells 10 of the fuel cell, current collecting plates 20 for guiding the current generated at the fuel cell outward, arranged on both end part of the cell parts, and current collector terminals 20b for connecting wires 40 to a part of current collecting plates 20. A heat insulation member 30a is arranged between neighboring area of the current collector terminal 20a near to the current collector terminal 20b, and the unit cell 10. Alternatively, the gap between the neighboring area of the current collector terminal 20a near to the current collector terminal 20b and the unit cell 10 may be left as it is. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention includes a cell portion in which a large number of unit cells of a fuel cell are stacked, a current collector plate disposed at both ends of the cell portion to guide the current generated by the fuel cell to the outside, and a wire on a part of the current collector plate. The present invention relates to a polymer electrolyte fuel cell including a current collecting terminal for connection, and more particularly to a polymer electrolyte fuel cell capable of reducing heat loss generated from a current collecting terminal via an electric wire.

  In a small-scale stationary power generator for cogeneration, which is the main use of polymer electrolyte fuel cells, it is important to suppress heat dissipation from the fuel cell stack. When the amount of heat radiation is large, the temperature of the fuel cell cooling water is lowered and the heat output to the outside is reduced, so that the total energy efficiency as the fuel cell power generation system is lowered. In particular, in the partial load operation in which the heat generation amount of the fuel cell stack is reduced, the influence of heat radiation becomes relatively large.

  The heat loss of the fuel cell stack can be broadly divided into three types: thermal energy brought out by the fuel cell stack outlet gas, heat radiation from the outer surface of the fuel cell stack, and heat loss from the current collector terminal via the electric wire. . Although the heat loss due to the fuel cell stack outlet gas can be recovered by heat exchange outside, the heat loss from the outer surface of the fuel cell stack and the heat loss via the electric wire cannot be recovered, so it is desirable to make it as small as possible. Although the heat radiation from the outer surface of the fuel cell stack can be easily reduced by strengthening the heat insulation, as a result, the ratio of the heat loss via the electric wires cannot be ignored. In particular, when the electrode area is increased in order to reduce the cost, the cross-sectional area of the electric wire conductor increases in order to pass a large current, thereby increasing the heat loss via the electric wire.

  To prevent heat loss via the electric wire, there is a method in which the entire electric wire is completely insulated so that the conductor temperature is close to the battery temperature. However, since an electric wire having a certain length or more has a larger surface area than its volume, it is difficult to maintain the conductor temperature by heat insulation. Although the temperature can be maintained by the resistance heat generation of the wire itself by making the wire thinner, the electric energy corresponding to the heat generation amount is consumed and the power generation efficiency is lowered.

  As a conventional technique for reducing the heat loss from the current collecting terminal, for example, there is a method for preheating the reaction gas by winding a heat exchange coil around the current collecting terminal as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-109650. . This method allows efficient heat exchange when the cell temperature is several hundred degrees as in the case of a solid oxide fuel cell. However, the solid polymer fuel cell has a low operating temperature of 100 ° C. or less. In the coil system, efficient heat exchange is difficult, and the structure is complicated.

  As another method, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-45462, there is a method in which a heating element is provided outside the current collector plate and current is taken out from the heating element when the temperature decreases. Since this method is intended to prevent the cell temperature from being lowered due to heat loss, the heat loss itself cannot be reduced. Therefore, it is not only possible to prevent a decrease in the total energy utilization efficiency due to heat loss, but also has a drawback that it reduces the power generation efficiency because it is a method for preventing a decrease in cell temperature by changing a part of the power energy to heat. .

  In a stack of polymer electrolyte fuel cells as a normal configuration, current collecting plates 20 are disposed at both ends of a cell portion in which a large number of single cells 10 are stacked, as shown in FIG. A current collecting terminal 20b provided at the end of the current collecting plate 20 is electrically connected to another device through the electric wire 40. A clamping plate 22 for clamping the stack with a constant pressure is separated from the current collector plate 20 by an insulating plate 21. The outer surface of the stack is covered with a heat insulating material 30 in order to suppress heat dissipation, and is further shielded from outside air by a heat insulating cover 31. The periphery of the current collecting terminal 20b is also insulated by being covered with the heat insulating material 30b and the heat insulating cover 31b.

  The unit cell 10 includes a cathode separator 60a and an anode separator 60b. As shown in FIG. 3, the separators 60a, 60b are provided with manifolds 50a, 50b, 51a, 51b, 52a, 52b for distributing and collecting air, fuel, and cooling water to the single cells. The part 62 is connected to the electrode part 61. A manifold for supplying air from the outside is referred to as an air inlet manifold 50a, a manifold for discharging the air after reaction is referred to as an air outlet manifold 50b, and a manifold for supplying fuel from the outside is referred to as a fuel inlet manifold 51a. The manifold for discharging the fuel is called a fuel outlet manifold 51b, the manifold for supplying cooling water from the outside is the cooling water inlet manifold 52a, and the manifold for discharging the cooling water after reaction is the cooling water outlet manifold 52b. Called. The manifold connection portion 62 and the electrode portion 61 have arbitrary-shaped gas flow paths, but the description thereof is omitted because they are not related in the present invention. Each manifold is sealed with a packing 63. The manifold is also present on the current collector plate 20. In many cases, the manifold communicates with the insulating plate 21 and the fastening plate 22 and is connected to the external pipe. However, a connection port with the external pipe may be provided on the side surface of the thick insulating plate. Detailed descriptions of the insulating plate 21 and the clamping plate 22 are also omitted because they are not related to the present invention.

JP 2003-109650 A

JP 2003-45462 A

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a polymer electrolyte fuel cell capable of reducing heat loss generated from a current collecting terminal via an electric wire.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a cell portion in which a large number of unit cells of the fuel cell are stacked, and current collector plates disposed at both ends of the cell portion to guide the current generated by the fuel cell to the outside, A polymer electrolyte fuel cell comprising a current collector terminal for connecting an electric wire to a part of the current collector plate, between the current collector plate and the unit cell of the fuel cell in the vicinity of the current collector terminal A solid polymer fuel cell is provided, characterized in that a heat insulating material is disposed on the solid polymer fuel cell.

  According to invention of Claim 2, the thickness of the said heat insulating material in the vicinity of the said current collection terminal shall be half or less of the thickness of the said current collection board in places other than the vicinity of the said current collection terminal. A solid polymer fuel cell according to claim 1 is provided.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, a cell portion in which a large number of single cells of the fuel cell are stacked, and current collector plates disposed at both ends of the cell portion in order to guide the current generated by the fuel cell to the outside, A polymer electrolyte fuel cell comprising a current collector terminal for connecting an electric wire to a part of the current collector plate, between the current collector plate and the unit cell of the fuel cell in the vicinity of the current collector terminal There is provided a polymer electrolyte fuel cell characterized in that a gap is provided in the battery.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, a cell portion in which a large number of single cells of the fuel cell are stacked, and current collector plates disposed at both ends of the cell portion for guiding the current generated by the fuel cell to the outside, A polymer electrolyte fuel cell comprising a current collector terminal for connecting an electric wire to a part of the current collector plate, wherein the current collector plate and the unit cell of the fuel cell are separated from each other in the vicinity of the current collector terminal A polymer electrolyte fuel cell is provided.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, a cell portion in which a large number of single cells of the fuel cell are stacked, and current collector plates disposed at both ends of the cell portion for guiding the current generated by the fuel cell to the outside, In the polymer electrolyte fuel cell comprising: a current collecting terminal for connecting an electric wire to a part of the current collecting plate; and a reaction gas inlet manifold for distributing the reaction gas to each unit cell, the current collecting terminal Is disposed in proximity to the reaction gas inlet manifold. A solid polymer fuel cell is provided.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, a space for inserting a heat insulating material is provided between the current collector plate and the reaction gas inlet manifold in the vicinity of the current collector terminal. Item 6. A polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to Item 5 is provided.

  In the polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to claim 1, a heat insulating material is disposed between the current collector plate and the unit cell of the fuel cell in the vicinity of the current collector terminal. Therefore, the heat conduction from the single cell of the fuel cell to the current collector plate in the vicinity of the current collector terminal is greater than that in the case where no heat insulating material is disposed between the current collector plate and the single cell of the fuel cell near the current collector terminal. Therefore, the temperature of the current collecting terminal can be lowered, and heat loss generated from the current collecting terminal via the electric wire can be reduced.

  In the polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to claim 2, the thickness of the heat insulating material in the vicinity of the current collecting terminal is set to be equal to or less than half the thickness of the current collecting plate in a place other than the vicinity of the current collecting terminal. Therefore, it can be avoided that the electrical resistance of the current collector plate and the current collector terminal in the vicinity of the current collector terminal becomes too high as the thickness of the current collector plate in the vicinity of the current collector terminal is too thin. .

  Preferably, urethane foam is used as the heat insulating material. Therefore, the amount of heat transfer from the unit cell of the fuel cell to the current collecting terminal can be effectively reduced by the thin heat insulating material.

  In the polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to claim 3, a gap is provided between the current collector plate in the vicinity of the current collector terminal and the unit cell of the fuel cell. Therefore, heat conduction from the unit cell of the fuel cell to the current collector plate in the vicinity of the current collecting terminal can be prevented by the air having low thermal conductivity that occupies the gap. Thereby, the temperature of a current collection terminal can be lowered | hung and the heat loss which arises via an electric wire from a current collection terminal can be reduced.

  Since the movement of energy due to heat conduction is proportional to the temperature difference between the conductors, it is desirable that the temperature of the current collecting terminal is low in order to reduce the heat loss from the current collecting terminal. In the molecular fuel cell, the collector plate and the fuel cell unit cell are separated from each other in the vicinity of the collector terminal so that the collector plate and the unit cell of the fuel cell are not in direct contact with each other near the collector terminal. Yes. Therefore, the heat conduction from the single cell of the fuel cell to the current collector plate in the vicinity of the current collector terminal is prevented more than in the case where the current collector plate and the single cell of the fuel cell are in contact near the current collector terminal. Can do. Thereby, the temperature of the current collecting terminal can be lowered as compared with the case where the current collecting plate and the unit cell of the fuel cell are brought into contact in the vicinity of the current collecting terminal. As a result, it is possible to reduce the heat loss that occurs from the current collector terminal via the electric wire, compared to the case where the current collector plate and the unit cell of the fuel cell are in contact with each other near the current collector terminal.

  That is, in the polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to claim 4, the current collector plate and the unit cell of the fuel cell are partially separated from each other. Specifically, the current collector plate The unit cell of the fuel cell is spaced apart.

  Since the temperature of the reaction gas, especially air, supplied to the unit cell of the fuel cell is often lower than the temperature of the unit cell of the fuel cell, the temperature around the air inlet manifold is the lowest among the current collector plates. In view of the above, in the polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to claim 5, the current collecting terminal is disposed in the vicinity of the reaction gas inlet manifold through which the reaction gas having a temperature lower than that of the unit cell is allowed to pass. Therefore, the temperature of the current collecting terminal can be lowered as compared with the case where the current collecting terminal is arranged away from the reaction gas inlet manifold. Thereby, the temperature difference between the current collecting terminal and the outside air is reduced. As a result, it is possible to reduce the heat loss that occurs from the current collector terminal via the electric wire, compared to the case where the current collector terminal is arranged away from the reaction gas inlet manifold.

  The reaction gas inlet manifold includes an air inlet manifold and a fuel inlet manifold, but if the reaction gas temperature in the air inlet manifold is lower than the reaction gas temperature in the fuel inlet manifold, the air inlet manifold A current collecting terminal is arranged in the vicinity. On the other hand, when the reaction gas temperature in the air inlet manifold is higher than the reaction gas temperature in the fuel inlet manifold, a current collecting terminal is disposed close to the fuel inlet manifold. In addition, when the reaction gas temperature in the air inlet manifold and the reaction gas temperature in the fuel inlet manifold are approximately the same, current collection is performed close to the inlet manifold on the side where the water vapor concentration contained in the reaction gas is low. Terminals are arranged.

  Preferably, the current collecting terminal is arranged at a position within 50 mm from the reaction gas inlet manifold. More preferably, a heat insulating material is disposed between the current collecting plate and the reaction gas inlet manifold in the vicinity of the current collecting terminal. Therefore, the heat insulation effect can be further enhanced.

  Preferably, in the vicinity of the current collecting terminal, the current collecting plate and the unit cell of the fuel cell are separated from each other over a length of 10 mm or more. More preferably, the current collecting terminal is disposed not at the apex of the long hole-shaped reaction gas inlet manifold but near the long side of the reaction gas inlet manifold.

  In the polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to claim 6, a space for inserting a heat insulating material is provided between the current collector plate and the reaction gas inlet manifold in the vicinity of the current collector terminal. Therefore, for example, by inserting a heat insulating material into the space, the heat insulating effect can be further enhanced.

  FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 10 is a single cell, 20 is a current collecting plate, 20a is a current collecting terminal vicinity, 20b is a current collecting terminal, 30, 30a and 30b are heat insulating materials, and 31 and 31b are heat insulating covers. 40 is an electric wire, 41 is a fastening bolt, 60a is a cathode separator, and 60b is an anode separator. As shown in FIG. 1, in the polymer electrolyte fuel cell of the first embodiment, the current collector plate 20 is a copper plate whose surface is plated with tin, zinc, nickel or the like. The thickness of the current collector plate 20 is usually 1 to 5 mm. A current collector having a thickness corresponding to the output current of the fuel cell stack is used. In the current collector plate 20, the current collector terminal vicinity 20a, which is a portion located in the vicinity of the current collector terminal 20b, and the unit cell 10 are spaced apart with a width of 0.5 to 2 mm. In the polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to the first embodiment, the heat insulating material 30a is disposed between the current collecting terminal vicinity 20a and the unit cell 10. The thicker the heat insulating material 30a, the higher the heat insulating effect. However, in order to reduce the electrical resistance of the current collecting terminal 20b, the thickness of the heat insulating material 30a is preferably less than half the thickness of the current collecting plate 20.

  As a material of the heat insulating material 30a, urethane foam is suitable. The typical thermal conductivity of such a heat insulating material is 0.03 W / mK, which is very small with respect to the thermal conductivity of copper (400 W / mK). The amount of heat transfer with the current collecting terminal 20b can be reduced. Further, in the polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to the second embodiment, the heat insulating material 30a is not disposed between the current collecting terminal vicinity 20a and the unit cell 10, and the current collecting terminal vicinity 20a and the unit cell 10 are not disposed. It is also possible to leave a gap. Even in that case, the thermal conductivity of the air in the gap is as very small as 0.03 W / mK, and a heat insulation effect can be obtained even if heat transfer by air convection is included.

  FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of main components of the polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3, 50a is an air inlet manifold, 50b is an air outlet manifold, 51a is a fuel inlet manifold, 51b is a fuel outlet manifold, 52a is a cooling water inlet manifold, 52b is a cooling water outlet manifold, 61 is an electrode portion, and 62 is a manifold. The connection part 63 is a packing. In the polymer electrolyte fuel cell of the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the current collecting terminal 20b is disposed near the air inlet manifold 50a. The term “near” here refers to a distance of 50 mm or less from the outer periphery of the air inlet manifold 50a, and preferably the current collector closest to the manifold from the portion of the manifold outline projected vertically onto the outline of the current collector plate. The part up to the top of the board.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a current collector plate of the polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in the polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to the first embodiment, the space for inserting the heat insulating material 30 a is not only between the current collector terminal vicinity 20 a and the unit cell 10. Rather, it is also provided between the current collecting terminal vicinity 20a and the air inlet manifold 50a. Therefore, the heat insulation effect can be further enhanced. The length of the current collecting terminal vicinity 20a is arbitrary, but in order to obtain an appropriate heat insulating effect, it is desirable that the length be at least 10 mm.

  As a method for connecting the fuel cell and the electric wire 40, as shown in FIG. 1, the current collecting terminal 40b is extended to the outside of the fuel cell and connected to the electric wire 40, or the terminal attached to the electric wire 40 is directly connected. It may be inserted into the current collector plate 20. In any case, the periphery of the electric wire 40 is covered with the heat insulating material 30b and the heat insulating cover 31b. As the heat insulating material 30b, foamed resin such as urethane foam, glass wool, rock wool or the like is suitable, and as the heat insulating cover 31b, aluminum tape or the like is suitable. The periphery of the fuel cell stack is also covered with a heat insulating material 30 and a heat insulating cover 31. As the heat insulating material 30, a vacuum heat insulating material having a low thermal conductivity is used, and as the heat insulating cover 31, a thin plate of stainless steel or aluminum is used. As the insulating plate 21, a resin material such as polyamide is used, and as the fastening plate 22, a metal such as aluminum or iron or a fiber reinforced plastic is used. Although not shown, the heat insulating material 30 and the heat insulating cover 31 have an opening for connecting a reaction gas and cooling water, and various fluids enter the fuel cell stack through the side surface of the insulating plate 21 and the surface of the clamping plate 22. Supplied and discharged from there. In order to prevent the electrolyte membrane from being contaminated by metal ions, the fluid is not in direct contact with the metal material.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the current collecting terminal of the polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, when the air inlet manifold 50a has a long hole shape, the long side of the air inlet manifold 50a is collected on the portion projected on the outer periphery of the current collector plate 20 (the right front portion in FIG. 5). The electric terminal vicinity part 20a is arrange | positioned. Thereby, the amount of heat transfer from the current collector plate 20 to the current collector terminal 20b can be reduced.

  In the embodiment described above, the current collector terminal 20b has a shape protruding from the current collector plate 20. However, the shape of the current collector terminal is irrelevant to the essence of the present invention, and is notched in the current collector terminal vicinity 20a. An arbitrary shape capable of being connected to the electric wire 40 can be selected by providing a screw hole or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to the first embodiment, the current collector terminal vicinity 20a, which is the current collector plate 20 in the vicinity of the current collector terminal 20b, the unit cell 10 of the fuel cell, A heat insulating material 30A is disposed between the two. Therefore, the fuel cell unit cell 10 to the current collector plate 20 in the vicinity of the current collector terminal 20b is closer to the current collector terminal 20b than the case where the heat insulating material is not disposed between the current collector plate and the fuel cell unit cell in the vicinity of the current collector terminal. Heat conduction can be hindered, whereby the temperature of the current collecting terminal 20b can be lowered, and heat loss generated from the current collecting terminal 20b via the electric wire 40 can be reduced.

  Further, as described above, in the polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to the second embodiment, between the current collector terminal vicinity portion 20a, which is the current collector plate 20 in the vicinity of the current collector terminal 20b, and the unit cell 10 of the fuel cell. A gap is provided in Therefore, heat conduction from the unit cell 10 of the fuel cell to the current collector plate 20 in the vicinity of the current collecting terminal 20b can be prevented by the air having low thermal conductivity that occupies the gap. Thereby, the temperature of the current collection terminal 20b can be lowered | hung and the heat loss which arises via the electric wire 40 from the current collection terminal 20b can be reduced.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1, in the polymer electrolyte fuel cells of the first and second embodiments, the current collector plate 20 and the unit cell 10 of the fuel cell are not in direct contact in the vicinity of the current collector terminal 20b. As described above, the current collector plate 20 and the unit cell 10 of the fuel cell are separated from each other in the vicinity of the current collecting terminal 20b. Therefore, the heat conduction from the fuel cell unit cell 10 to the current collector plate 20 in the vicinity of the current collector terminal 20b is greater than in the case where the current collector plate and the fuel cell unit cell are in contact with each other near the current collector terminal. Can be disturbed. Thereby, the temperature of the current collecting terminal 20b can be lowered as compared with the case where the current collecting plate and the unit cell of the fuel cell are in contact with each other near the current collecting terminal. As a result, it is possible to reduce the heat loss that occurs from the current collecting terminal 20b via the electric wire 40, compared to the case where the current collecting plate and the unit cell of the fuel cell are in contact with each other near the current collecting terminal.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the polymer electrolyte fuel cell of the first embodiment, an air inlet manifold 50a, which is one of the reaction gas inlet manifolds through which a reaction gas having a temperature lower than that of the unit cell 10 is allowed to pass. A current collecting terminal 20b is arranged in the vicinity. Therefore, the temperature of the current collecting terminal 20b can be lowered as compared with the case where the current collecting terminal is arranged away from the reaction gas inlet manifold. Thereby, the temperature difference between the current collecting terminal 20b and the outside air is reduced. As a result, it is possible to reduce the heat loss that occurs from the current collecting terminal 20b via the electric wire 40, compared to the case where the current collecting terminal is arranged away from the reaction gas inlet manifold.

It is sectional drawing of 1st Embodiment of the polymer electrolyte fuel cell of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the conventional polymer electrolyte fuel cell. It is a block diagram of the main components of the polymer electrolyte fuel cell of 1st Embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a current collector plate of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to a first embodiment. It is an expansion perspective view near the current collection terminal of the polymer electrolyte fuel cell of 3rd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Single battery 20 Current collecting plate 20a Current collecting terminal vicinity 20b Current collecting terminal 30 Heat insulating material 30a Heat collecting material near current collecting terminal 30b Current collecting terminal heat insulating material 31 Heat insulating cover 31b Current collecting terminal heat insulating cover 40 Electric wire 41 Tightening Attached bolt 50a Air inlet manifold 50b Air outlet manifold 51a Fuel inlet manifold 51b Fuel outlet manifold 52a Cooling water inlet manifold 52b Cooling water outlet manifold 60a Cathode separator 60b Anode separator 61 Electrode portion 62 Manifold connection portion 63 Packing

Claims (6)

  A cell part in which a large number of single cells of the fuel cell are stacked, a current collector plate disposed at both ends of the cell part to guide the current generated by the fuel cell to the outside, and a wire connected to a part of the current collector plate In the polymer electrolyte fuel cell comprising a current collecting terminal for carrying out, a heat insulating material is disposed between the current collecting plate in the vicinity of the current collecting terminal and the unit cell of the fuel cell. Solid polymer fuel cell.   2. The solid height according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the heat insulating material in the vicinity of the current collecting terminal is set to be equal to or less than half the thickness of the current collecting plate in a place other than the vicinity of the current collecting terminal. Molecular fuel cell.   A cell part in which a large number of single cells of the fuel cell are stacked, a current collector plate disposed at both ends of the cell part to guide the current generated by the fuel cell to the outside, and a wire connected to a part of the current collector plate In the polymer electrolyte fuel cell comprising a current collecting terminal, a solid gap is provided between the current collecting plate in the vicinity of the current collecting terminal and the unit cell of the fuel cell. Polymer fuel cell.   A cell part in which a large number of single cells of the fuel cell are stacked, a current collector plate disposed at both ends of the cell part to guide the current generated by the fuel cell to the outside, and a wire connected to a part of the current collector plate In the polymer electrolyte fuel cell comprising a current collecting terminal, the current collecting plate and the single cell of the fuel cell are separated from each other in the vicinity of the current collecting terminal. Fuel cell.   A cell part in which a large number of single cells of the fuel cell are stacked, a current collector plate disposed at both ends of the cell part to guide the current generated by the fuel cell to the outside, and a wire connected to a part of the current collector plate And a reaction gas inlet manifold for distributing reaction gas to each unit cell, wherein the current collector terminal is disposed close to the reaction gas inlet manifold A polymer electrolyte fuel cell characterized by the above.   6. The polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to claim 5, wherein a space for inserting a heat insulating material is provided between the current collector plate and the reaction gas inlet manifold in the vicinity of the current collector terminal. .

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