JP2009266727A - Fuel cell - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fuel cell capable of making a unit cell and a stack compact in size in addition to the enhancement of the exhausting performance of produced water. <P>SOLUTION: A fuel cell stack 1000 is formed by stacking a plurality of unit cells 100, each of the unit cells 100 is formed by interposing a membrane electrode conjugant 3 between anode side and cathode side gas passage 4, 4', and interposing the gas passages 4, 4' between separators 5, 5', a shape as viewed in a plan view of the unit cell 100 is almost rectangular, supply manifolds 54, 43 are formed in one of an opposing pair of end side vicinities of the almost rectangle, exhaust manifolds 44, 55 for exhausting gas passed through the gas passages 4, 4' are formed in the other, and through-holes 57, 46 through which fastening materials on the exhaust manifold sides are passed are formed inside a current collecting part 41 on the upstream side more than the exhaust manifold 44 of gas flowing through a gas passage layer 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel cell, and more particularly, to a fuel cell that can effectively suppress fluttering due to stagnation of product water, and that can reduce the flat area of a cell and make the stack compact.

  A single cell of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell includes a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) comprising an ion permeable electrolyte membrane and an anode electrode layer and a cathode electrode layer sandwiching the electrolyte membrane, or A membrane electrode assembly (MEGA: Membrane Electrode & Gas Diffusion Layer Assembly) formed by sandwiching the electrode layer with a gas diffusion layer (GDL), and supplying fuel gas or oxidant gas to the membrane electrode assembly and electric At least a gas flow path layer and a separator for collecting electricity generated by a chemical reaction are provided. A cell structure in which the separator also functions as a gas flow path layer is generally known. The fuel cell stack is formed by stacking a predetermined number of single cells according to required power.

  In the fuel cell described above, hydrogen gas or the like is provided as a fuel gas to the anode electrode, oxygen or air is provided as the oxidant gas to the cathode electrode, and each electrode has a gas flow layer in its in-plane direction. Then, the gas diffused in the gas diffusion layer is led to the electrode catalyst to cause an electrochemical reaction.

  By the way, in the single cell described above, as shown in FIG. 7, the separator and the gas flow path layer G are compared with the plane area of the membrane electrode assembly C (MEGA) having a rectangular (including square) plan view. Widely separated (the separator and the gas flow path layer G are composed of a central current collecting part G1 and an outer peripheral frame part G2), and stacks are formed at the four corners of the frame part G2 constituting the separator and the gas flow path layer G. Through holes G3,... Are sometimes opened for the fastening bolts to pass therethrough (therefore, there are no through holes in the electrode portion made of the membrane electrode assembly C, the gas flow path layer, or the current collecting portion G1 of the separator).

  A supply manifold G4a for supplying an oxidant gas or a fuel gas to the gas flow path layer is flowed in one of the ends in the vicinity of the set of rectangles in plan view, and the other flows in the gas flow path layer. Exhaust manifolds G4b for exhausting gas are provided respectively. The unit cell A having the structure shown in the figure is assembled, a predetermined number of unit cells assembled are stacked as shown in FIG. 8, an end plate and a tension plate are arranged on the outermost side, and a pressing force (compression force) is provided between the tension plates at both ends. As a result, a fuel cell stack E having a fixed size structure is formed.

  For example, the flow of the oxidant gas in the gas flow path layer G ′ on the cathode side constituting the single cell A is simulated in FIG. 9. As shown in the figure, in the gas flow path layer G ′ of a so-called flat type module in which the gas flow path layer G ′ is separated from the separator, the gas flow path layer G ′ is formed of expanded metal or the like. The whole forms a gas flow path. Therefore, the oxidant gas flowing in from the supply manifold G4a flows through the gas flow path layer G 'while receiving flow resistance (gas flow: F), and is exhausted through the exhaust manifold G4b.

  As is apparent from FIG. 9, also in the gas flow path layer G ′, through holes G3,... Are arranged at the corners of the frame portion G2 ′ on the outer periphery of the current collecting portion G1 ′ to form the through holes G3. Therefore, the entire area of the gas flow path layer G ′ is inevitably increased because of the frame portion G2 ′ provided for this purpose. This is a cause of increasing the plane area of the fuel cell stack, and as a result, increases the size of the stack.

  By the way, as one of the factors impeding the power generation performance of the fuel cell, there can be mentioned flatting in which generated water stays in the gas flow path layer on the cathode side and closes the porous structure. If this flatting occurs, the electrochemical reaction is hindered by the staying of the generated water at the site, and the power generation performance of the cell is lowered. In particular, in the gas flow path layer, the flow rate of the oxidant gas flowing in the vicinity of the oxidant gas supply manifold is relatively fast, but the flow rate of the gas flowing in the gas flow path layer and reaching the vicinity of the exhaust manifold is relatively high. As the gas flow rate decreases, the generated water present in the gas flow path layer cannot be sufficiently pressured to be pushed out to the exhaust manifold, and as a result, flattening is likely to occur. Specified by the inventors.

By the way, a fuel cell disclosed in Patent Document 1 can be cited as a conventional technique conceived for suppressing the above-described flatting. In this fuel cell, the gas flow rate from the gas supply manifold to the exhaust manifold (drainage manifold) is narrowed stepwise to increase the gas flow rate, thereby improving drainage.
JP 2001-143725 A

  According to the fuel cell disclosed in Patent Document 1, by increasing the flow rate of gas that tends to be low in the vicinity of the exhaust (drainage) manifold side, it is possible to effectively suppress the retention of generated water that tends to occur particularly in the vicinity of the exhaust manifold. can do. However, in this fuel cell, although the drainage efficiency of the generated water is increased, the above-described problem, that is, the single cell and the stack cannot be made compact.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a fuel cell capable of simultaneously reducing the unit cell and the stack in addition to enhancing the drainage performance of generated water. To do.

  In order to achieve the above object, a fuel cell according to the present invention comprises an electrolyte membrane and an electrode catalyst layer sandwiched between an anode side and a cathode side gas diffusion layer to form a membrane electrode assembly, and the membrane electrode assembly is connected to the anode side. A gas cell layer on the cathode side and a gas channel layer on the cathode side are sandwiched, and a single cell is formed by sandwiching the gas channel layer between separators on the anode side and the cathode side, and a stack is formed by stacking the plurality of single cells. In the fuel cell, the unit cell has a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, and a supply manifold for supplying gas to the gas flow path layer is provided at one of the opposing sides of the substantially rectangular pair. An exhaust manifold for exhausting the gas that has passed through the gas flow path layer is formed on the other side, and the single cell has a through hole for a fastening material to pass through the single cell when the stack is formed. The supply The at least one through hole on the exhaust manifold side is upstream of the exhaust manifold for the gas flowing in the gas flow path layer, and the gas flow path layer. Are formed in the current collecting region.

  The fuel cell of the present invention is intended for a fuel cell stack including a single cell of a so-called flat type module in which a gas flow path layer is separated from a separator.

  In the single-cell structure of this form, a manifold extending along the side of the pair of opposing sides of the gas channel layer having a rectangular or square shape in plan view is opened, and this is the case on the cathode side. The supply manifold for supplying the oxidant gas to the gas flow path layer and the exhaust manifold for exhausting the oxidant gas flowing in the gas flow path layer are formed in the vicinity of the respective ends, and the anode side Then, the fuel gas flows in the gas flow path layer with the same configuration.

  Especially on the cathode side, produced water is generated by an electrochemical reaction. If this drainage is insufficient, the produced water stays in the gas flow path layer, and the flow of the oxidant gas is hindered by this produced water. As a result, the power generation performance may be reduced, leading to flatting.

  For example, the gas flow path layer is formed from an expanded metal (also referred to as a lath metal) having a porous structure. Here, the generated water is drained by the oxidant gas flowing in the gas flow path layer extruding the generated water to the exhaust manifold by its gas pressure. However, due to the flow resistance (pressure loss) that the oxidant gas receives in the process of flowing through the gas flow path layer, the flow rate of the oxidant gas in the vicinity of the exhaust manifold is significantly lower than that in the vicinity of the supply manifold. As a result, stagnation of generated water is likely to occur.

  Therefore, in the fuel cell of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 9, the fastening bolt insertion through hole provided outside the exhaust manifold is disposed inside the gas flow path layer, more specifically, the exhaust manifold. The through-hole was disposed in the current collecting part upstream of the gas flow. As a result, the flow width of the oxidant gas on the upstream side of the exhaust manifold is narrowed to increase the gas flow rate, and a larger gas pressure is applied to the generated water to effectively drain water. .

  Here, the part where the through-hole is formed is located in the electromotive force current collecting part in the gas flow path layer and the separator, and corresponds to the electrode part in the membrane electrode assembly (MEGA).

  In addition to the above-described improvement in drainage that can be achieved by the configuration of the present invention, it is possible to further reduce the size of a single cell, and thus a stack in which the cells are stacked, and to realize a compact fuel cell.

  Further, as other effects, improvement of the power generation performance of the fuel cell can be mentioned. In the conventional structure shown in FIG. 9, the central electrode portion and the current collecting portion are separated from the through hole position located on the outer periphery thereof, that is, the fastening bolt position, so that the compression force applied at the time of stack formation is separated from the electrode portion. There is also a problem that it cannot act sufficiently. This is a part where the outer peripheral part of the stack is directly applied with compressive force, and is therefore tightened by the equivalent compressive force, while it is actually in the vicinity of the center of the electrode part and current collector part away from it. One of the causes is that a compressive force less than the applied compressive force is applied. This also means that the in-plane uniform compressive force does not act on the electrode portion, which directly leads to a decrease in power generation performance.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, as in the fuel cell of the present invention, at least the cathode side through hole position (fastening bolt position) is arranged in the current collecting portion on the center side as compared with the fuel cell of the conventional structure, thereby A compressive force closer to the compressive force applied at the time of formation can be applied to the electrode portion, and a more uniform compressive force can be applied to the surface of the electrode portion, leading to an improvement in power generation performance.

  In order to further reduce the size of the fuel cell, not only the exhaust manifold side but also the through-hole position (fastening bolt position) on the supply manifold side may be arranged in the same manner as the exhaust manifold. That is, in this case, a through-hole is arranged in the current collector or the electrode part on the downstream side of the supply manifold.

  In another embodiment of the fuel cell according to the present invention, the electrolyte membrane and the electrode catalyst layer are sandwiched between the anode-side and cathode-side gas diffusion layers to form a membrane-electrode assembly, and the membrane-electrode assembly is used as the anode. A single cell is formed by sandwiching the gas channel layer on the side and the cathode side, and sandwiching the gas channel layer by the separator on the anode side and the cathode side, and a plurality of the single cells are stacked to form a stack. In the fuel cell, the unit cell has a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, and a supply manifold for supplying a gas to the gas flow path layer is provided at one of the ends of a pair of opposing sides of the substantially rectangular shape. The exhaust manifold for exhausting the gas that has passed through the gas flow path layer is formed on the other side, and the length of the exhaust manifold is shorter than the length of the supply manifold. In the single cell, through holes are formed in the supply manifold side and the exhaust manifold side for allowing the fastening material to pass through the single cell at the time of stack formation. The through hole on the exhaust manifold side is formed at a position facing the manifold.

  In the present embodiment, the length of the exhaust manifold is made shorter than the length of the supply manifold, and the exhaust manifold is arranged at the center position near the end side, and through holes are arranged at the side positions of both ends.

  In this embodiment, the length of the exhaust manifold is shortened relative to the length of the supply manifold, so that the through holes on both sides of the exhaust manifold are arranged to face the supply manifold. The through holes are positioned laterally at both ends of the exhaust manifold and upstream of the exhaust manifold, so that both corners on the exhaust manifold side of the single cell are notched in a tapered shape. It becomes possible, and further downsizing of the fuel cell can be realized.

  Also in the present embodiment, the length of the exhaust manifold itself is shortened, so that the gas flow rate of the oxidant gas in the vicinity of the exhaust manifold is significantly faster than that of the conventional structure, and the drainage performance of the generated water is improved. Can be improved.

  According to the fuel cell of the present invention described above, the length of the exhaust manifold is supplied in addition to the simple structural change by simply changing the fastening bolt position on the exhaust manifold side in the fuel cell stack of the conventional structure. By changing the structure to be shorter than that of the manifold, the drainage of the generated water can be improved, the fuel cell stack can be made more compact, and the compression force during stack formation can be further increased in the electrode and current collectors. The power generation performance can be improved by acting effectively.

  Such compact, excellent drainage and power generation performance of fuel cells has recently been expanded, and electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles are being sought to improve the performance of onboard fuel cells. It is suitable for etc.

  As can be understood from the above description, according to the fuel cell of the present invention, the fuel cell can be made compact by simply changing the structure of the fastening material (or the position of the through hole for the fastening material). Therefore, it is possible to improve both the drainage of generated water and the power generation performance.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of a single cell constituting the fuel cell stack of the present invention.

  The structure of the single cell 100 shown in FIG. 1 is that an MEA1 composed of an electrolyte membrane as an ion exchange membrane and cathode and anode electrode layers, and cathode and anode gas diffusion layers 2A and 2A ′ (near them) GDL), a membrane electrode assembly 3 (MEGA) formed from the gas electrode layers 4, 4 ′ on the cathode side and the anode side sandwiching the membrane electrode assembly 3, and the gas channel layer 4, 3 'separators 5 and 5' sandwiching 4 ', and a resin gasket (not shown) is integrally formed on the periphery thereof.

  The electrolyte membrane constituting MEA1 is a non-fluorine type such as a fluorinated ion exchange membrane having a sulfonic acid group or a carbonyl group, a substituted phenylene oxide, a sulfonated polyaryletherketone, a sulfonated polyarylethersulfone, or a sulfonated phenylene sulfide. The electrode layer is made of a porous material in which a catalyst made of platinum or an alloy thereof is supported on carbon or the like. The gas diffusion layers 2A and 2A 'are formed from a gas permeable material such as carbon paper or carbon cloth. Further, the gas flow path layers 4 and 4 'are made of a porous expanded metal, and a gasket (not shown) accommodates the membrane electrode assembly 3 in a mold and puts a desired resin in the mold. Can be formed by insert molding.

  The separator 5 having a three-layer structure is sandwiched between a face material 53 that defines a cell between adjacent single cells, a face material 51 on the MEGA side that faces the face material 53, and the face materials 51 and 53. The spacer 52 is made of a resin material formed in a frame shape (endless shape) along the outer peripheral contour of the face materials 51 and 53. The face materials 51 and 53 are formed of a gas impermeable dense carbon material, dense graphite material, or the like. The side surface of the face material 51 facing the face material 53 is provided with a large number of projections (dimples) (not shown), and the projections have a height corresponding to the thickness of the spacer 52, thereby providing a three-layer structure. At this time, the tip of the protrusion comes into contact with the side surface of the face material 53, and a flow path of cooling water flowing between the protrusions is formed in a turbulent manner.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the separators 5 and 5 ′, the gas flow path layers 4 and 4 ′, and the MEGA 3 are all formed in a rectangular or square shape in plan view. 4, 4 'are provided with ears 58, 47 projecting laterally on the supply manifolds 54, 43 side, and through the supply manifold side through which fastening bolts are inserted. Holes 56 and 45 are opened. Further, in the separators 5 and 5 ′ and the gas flow path layers 4 and 4 ′, through-holes 57 and 46 on the exhaust manifold side are disposed in the current collecting portions 59 and 41 on the upstream side of the respective exhaust manifolds 55 and 44. ing. Further, the MEGA 3 has a through hole 32 at a position corresponding to the through holes 57 and 46.

  When the members constituting the single cell 100 are assembled, the through holes 56 and 47 on the supply manifold side are positioned on the same axis L1, and the through holes 57 and 46 on the exhaust manifold side are positioned. 32 is positioned on the same axis L2 and a fastening bolt (not shown) is inserted into a communication hole in which each through hole communicates.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view of the gas flow path layer on the cathode side, and an oxidant gas is supplied into the expanded metal 41 on one side of a pair of opposing sides of the substantially rectangular frame portion 42. A supply manifold 43 is provided, and an exhaust manifold 44 is provided on the other side to exhaust and drain the oxidant gas and generated water that have flowed through the expanded metal 41. As is clear from a comparison between FIG. 9 and FIG. 9, in the gas flow path layer 4 shown in FIG. 2, the through holes 46 on the exhaust manifold side are upstream of the exhaust manifold 44 and are made of expanded metal. By being arranged in the electric part 41, the plane area is remarkably reduced as compared with the conventional gas flow path layer shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the through hole 46 on the exhaust manifold side is disposed in the current collecting part 41 on the upstream side of the gas flow of the exhaust manifold 44, so that in addition to the above-described compactness, It also leads to increasing the flow rate of the flowing oxidant gas.

  This will be described with reference to FIG. 3. The oxidant gas flowing into the expanded metal 41 from the supply manifold 43 flows while diffusing in the expanded metal 41 toward the exhaust manifold 44. Expanded metal has a porous structure in which, for example, a hexagonal hole in the cross section is continuous and the continuous holes are alternately shifted by continuously shearing the metal plate. Have two-way characteristics with different flow resistance. Normally, the expanded metal is arranged so that the direction from the supply manifold 43 to the exhaust manifold 44 is a direction in which the flow resistance is large, thereby promoting the diffusion flow of the oxidant gas.

  The flow rate of the oxidant gas (gas flow in the figure: F1 in the figure) flowing from the supply manifold 43 to the exhaust manifold 44 gradually decreases toward the exhaust manifold 44 due to the flow resistance of the expanded metal. Through holes 46 and 46 (in fact, a fastening bolt (not shown) is located in the through hole 46) on the upstream side of 44, the through hole 46 (and a fastening bolt (not shown)) Thus, the gas flow direction is changed to the center side (gas flow: F2), and the flow velocity in the vicinity is narrowed to increase the gas flow velocity.

  In particular, in the gas flow path layer 4 on the cathode side, in general, the generated water generated by the electrochemical reaction tends to stay in the vicinity of the exhaust manifold, but the gas flow rate in this vicinity is increased. The gas pressure for extruding the produced water to the exhaust manifold 44 increases, and the drainage of the produced water is improved.

  Each component shown in FIG. 1 is united, unitary unit cells 100 are stacked in a number corresponding to a desired power generation amount, and an end plate 200 and a tension plate 300 are arranged on the outermost edge, and each penetrating through The fastening bolts B,... Are inserted into the holes, and a desired compressive force is applied to each single cell 100 to form a fuel cell stack 1000 as shown in FIG.

  A fuel cell system mounted on an electric vehicle or the like includes this fuel cell, various tanks for storing hydrogen gas and air, a blower for supplying these gases to the fuel cell, a radiator for cooling the fuel cell, a fuel The battery is generally composed of a battery that stores electric power generated by the battery, a drive motor that is driven by the electric power, and the like.

  5 and 6 illustrate another embodiment of the gas channel layer on the cathode side. Although not shown, for example, the single cell having the gas flow path layer shown in FIG. 5 has a separator corresponding to the shape of the gas flow path layer, and the shape of the gas flow path layer and the separator. It goes without saying that a fuel cell stack corresponding to the above is formed.

  In the gas flow path layer 4A shown in FIG. 5, the length of the exhaust manifold 44A is shorter than the length of the supply manifold 43, and the exhaust manifold 44A is located upstream of the exhaust manifold 44A on both sides. The through hole 46 is opened.

  In the illustrated example, a current collecting part 41A having a shape that avoids the through hole 46 is provided, and furthermore, the exhaust of the frame part 42A that has become an extra space due to the opening of the through hole 46 at the illustrated position. A corner portion on the manifold side is notched into a tapered shape to form a tapered portion 48.

  By providing the tapered portion 48, the plane area of the gas flow path layer can be further reduced, and the single cell and the fuel cell stack can be further downsized. Also in the gas flow path layer 4A, the gas flow F2 whose flow direction is changed toward the central side on the upstream side of the exhaust manifold 44A is excited, and the gas flow rate can be increased to improve drainage. In this embodiment, as is apparent from the figure, the exhaust manifold 44A has the same width as that of the gas flow restricted to the center side, and the drainage property at the communication hole extending in the longitudinal direction of the stack is also provided. Can be improved.

  Further, the gas flow path layer 4B shown in FIG. 6 is provided not only on the exhaust manifold side but also on the supply manifold side through holes 45, 45 in the current collector 41, and the above-mentioned ears are omitted. By having the frame part 42B, a gas diffusion layer having a smaller plane area can be formed, and the fuel cell stack can be made more compact.

  Also in the gas flow path layer 4B, the gas flow F2 is excited on the upstream side of the exhaust manifold 44, and the gas flow rate can be increased as in the gas flow path layers 4 and 4A described above.

  A single cell having the gas flow path layers 4, 4 </ b> A, 4 </ b> B described above and having a through-hole at a position corresponding to the through-hole on the exhaust manifold side formed thereon and a membrane electrode assembly was laminated. According to the fuel cell stack, the drainage performance can be improved and the fuel cell stack can be made compact by a simple structural change in which at least the through hole for the fastening bolt on the exhaust manifold side is arranged on the upstream side of the exhaust manifold. Can do. Further, since a part of the fastening bolt is arranged on the center side of the single cell, it becomes possible to effectively apply the compressive force at the time of stack formation to the electrode part, and the in-plane uniform compressive force to the electrode part. Can be achieved, leading to an improvement in the power generation performance of the fuel cell.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and there are design changes and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention. They are also included in the present invention.

It is a disassembled perspective view of one Embodiment of the single cell which comprises the fuel cell stack of this invention. It is a top view of the gas flow path layer which comprises the single cell of FIG. It is the figure explaining the gas flow in the gas flow path layer shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a fuel cell stack in which unit cells assembled with the exploded perspective view of FIG. 1 are stacked. It is a top view of the gas flow path layer of other embodiment, Comprising: It is the figure explaining the gas flow. Furthermore, it is a top view of the gas flow path layer of other embodiment, Comprising: It is the figure explaining the gas flow. It is a disassembled perspective view of one Embodiment of the single cell which comprises the conventional fuel cell stack. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a conventional fuel cell stack in which unit cells assembled with the exploded perspective view of FIG. 7 are stacked. It is a top view of the conventional gas flow path layer which comprises the single cell of FIG. 7, Comprising: It is the figure explaining the gas flow.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... MEA, 2A, 2A '... 1st gas diffusion layer (GDL), 3 ... Membrane electrode assembly (MEGA), 4, 4', 4A, 4B, ... Gas flow path layer, 5, 5 '... Separator , 51 ... Face material, 52 ... Spacer, 53 ... Face material, 41 ... Current collector (expanded metal), 42 ... Frame material, 43 ... Supply manifold, 44, 44A ... Exhaust manifold, 45 ... Through hole on the supply manifold side , 46: Exhaust manifold side through hole, 100: Single cell, 1000: Fuel cell stack, B: Fastening bolt

Claims (2)

The electrolyte membrane and the electrode catalyst layer are sandwiched between the anode-side and cathode-side gas diffusion layers to form a membrane-electrode assembly, and the membrane-electrode assembly is sandwiched between the anode-side and cathode-side gas flow path layers. In a fuel cell in which a single cell is formed by sandwiching a flow path layer between separators on an anode side and a cathode side, and a stack is formed by stacking a plurality of the single cells.
The shape of the single cell in plan view is substantially rectangular, and a supply manifold for supplying gas to the gas flow path layer is formed on one side of a pair of opposing sides of the substantially rectangular shape, and on the other side. Is formed with an exhaust manifold for exhausting the gas that has passed through the gas flow path layer,
In the single cell, through holes are formed on the supply manifold side and the exhaust manifold side, respectively, through which the fastening material penetrates the single cell during stack formation.
The fuel cell, wherein at least the through hole on the exhaust manifold side is formed upstream of an exhaust manifold of gas flowing in the gas flow path layer and in a current collecting region in the gas flow path layer. The electrolyte membrane and the electrode catalyst layer are sandwiched between the anode-side and cathode-side gas diffusion layers to form a membrane-electrode assembly, and the membrane-electrode assembly is sandwiched between the anode-side and cathode-side gas flow path layers. In a fuel cell in which a single cell is formed by sandwiching a separator on the anode side and the cathode side of the flow path layer, and a stack is formed by stacking a plurality of the single cells.
The shape of the single cell in plan view is substantially rectangular, and a supply manifold for supplying gas to the gas flow path layer is formed on one side of a pair of opposing sides of the substantially rectangular shape, and on the other side. Is formed with an exhaust manifold for exhausting the gas that has passed through the gas flow path layer,
The length of the exhaust manifold is shorter than the length of the supply manifold,
In the single cell, through holes are formed on the supply manifold side and the exhaust manifold side, respectively, through which the fastening material penetrates the single cell during stack formation.
The fuel cell, wherein the through-holes on the exhaust manifold side are formed at positions opposite to the supply manifold on both sides of the exhaust manifold.

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