Patent ID: 7943263

Claim:
A portable fuel cell system for producing electrical energy, the portable fuel cell system comprising: a fuel processor that includes a reformer configured to receive reformer fuel and including a catalyst that facilitates the production of hydrogen from the reformer fuel, and a burner configured to i) catalytically process burner fuel to generate heat and ii) output burner exhaust; a fuel cell including a fuel cell stack configured to produce electrical energy using hydrogen output by the fuel processor, a set of bi-polar plates included in the fuel cell stack, wherein each bi-polar plate includes a thickness that is less than about 2 millimeters, and a set of heat transfer appendages, wherein each heat transfer appendage includes a portion arranged external to the fuel cell stack and is in conductive thermal communication with a bi-polar plate in the set of bi-polar plates; a thermal catalyst, disposed outside the fuel cell and in conductive thermal communication with the set of heat transfer appendages, operable to produce heat when the burner exhaust interacts with the thermal catalyst; and plumbing configured to controllably transport the burner exhaust to the thermal catalyst, wherein the plumbing includes a valve that directs the burner exhaust a) to the thermal catalyst or b) to a line that transports the burner exhaust away from the thermal catalyst, and wherein an outlet of the plumbing is less than about 2 centimeters from the thermal catalyst nearest to the outlet.