Patent ID: 7326481

Claim:
A method of operating a fuel cell system, comprising: coupling a hydrogen supply to an inlet of a fuel cell, the fuel cell having an outlet; pressurizing the fuel cell inlet with hydrogen from the hydrogen supply while the outlet is closed; reacting at least a portion of the hydrogen in the fuel cell to supply electrical current to a load while the outlet is closed; opening the outlet of the fuel cell to allow hydrogen to flow through the fuel cell from the inlet to the outlet; removing the hydrogen supply from the inlet of the fuel cell and closing the inlet of the fuel cell; coupling the hydrogen supply to the outlet of the fuel cell; pressurizing the fuel cell outlet with hydrogen from the hydrogen supply while the inlet is closed; reacting at least a portion of the hydrogen in the fuel cell to supply electrical current to the load while the inlet is closed; and opening the inlet of the fuel cell to allow hydrogen to flow through the fuel cell from the outlet to the inlet.